Family Ties: Adjustments
by AuthoressMegz
Summary: Sequel to Family Ties: The Beginning. AU. Aria Granger's life changed after a tragic accident. Now she's trying to get used to a new life, and she's not sure if she can handle it. Follow her through her through her highs, lows, and a lot of preteen angst.
1. A Mudsliding Bond

**Full Summary**: Aria Granger is trying to get used to the idea that what happened at the beginning of the summer was not a dream. It really happened. She's trying to deal with a tragic accident that shattered her very idea of life, while trying to tell her father's wife in a nice way that she really doesn't need a new mum, and she's not exactly looking for one. But when something awful happens, Aria's going to have to learn to trust someone she didn't really like to begin with. Meanwhile, her two best friends are trying to grasp the concept that Aria has come to stay. Rated just in case.

**An Important Note**: This is the sequel to the story 'Family Ties' so I strongly advise you to read that one first if you haven't already, because this story will probably hold more meaning for you, not to mention it would make a lot more sense.

**Disclaimer**: I really, truly, honestly, do not own Harry Potter. I dream about owning the magical world sometimes, but then I wake up and realize that it will never happen. I'm just a girl who enjoys writing fanfiction about that world (hence the name _fan_ _fiction_ – get it?).

**Author's Note**: Wow, there's a lot of notes to put in here to pave the way for my new story! Alright, this is the long-awaited sequel to 'Family Ties'! I hope it does justice to the first story. It may or may not be as long as 'Family Ties' – at the moment, I'm just not sure. Like I said on my profile, I keep getting new ideas and throwing old ideas out, so I've done a lot of mental reorganizing. But I hope you enjoy this story!

**One more note**: I'm thinking about turning the 'Family Ties' stories into a kind of series. After I get done with this one, I'm thinking about doing one on Jake's past and then one on Sean's past. But I need some feedback about this idea, so please review or message me if you have any ideas/comments! Thanks!

Okay! I'm done with all of these notes! So without further ado, here is the long-awaited story, 'Adjustments'. Happy Reading!

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**Adjustments

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**Chapter One: A Mudsliding Bond**

Aria's POV

My mum was one of those people who liked to look on the bright side of things. I wouldn't say she was an especially happy person, because I keep learning that she had a lot of sadness and hurt hidden away beneath that smile. But looking at her most of the time, you'd have thought she lived a pretty good life. In a way, I guess she was happy. She was always telling me how lucky she was to have me, and how she loved me more than I could ever know.

Part of me blames myself for her death. I mean, I was in the car when it happened. And if I hadn't asked to see a certain picture in her purse, she never would have knocked over her water reaching for said picture, and she wouldn't have been wiping up the floor instead of looking at the road.

A knock on my bedroom door startles me from my thoughts. I glance toward the door, but I don't say anything. The knob turns and a familiar face appears in the doorway.

"We're having lunch in about five minutes. Won't you come down?" she asks, looking hopeful. I look at my father's wife with a slight surge of resentment. I've been living at my father's house for a grand total of one and a half days now, and so far, I've managed to avoid everyone, but I guess I can't stay away from her forever.

I shake my head at her, and she sighs. She comes further into my room and perches on the edge of my bed. "Aria," she says, reaching out to me. I shift away from her uncomfortably and she sighs again.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asks. I shake my head at her. She gives me a disbelieving look, but it's the truth. Maybe she doesn't believe me because two boys the same age as me live in this house, and they're _always_ hungry, but I've never eaten much. I could live off of one meal a day if I had to.

"Please come eat something. I haven't seen you eat since got here," she prods. I shrug and look away. She sighs once again and stands up.

"Fine," she snaps, and I can tell I'm really starting to get on her nerves with the whole ignoring her thing. "Starve for all I care." She walks out of the room, all but slamming the door behind her. Well it's nice to know she cares.

I lie down on my bed and stare at the ceiling for awhile before rolling over onto my stomach and reaching over to my nightstand. I take one of my books from the little table and open it on my pillow. I start to read, but I've hardly gotten past the first page when I hear arguing outside my bedroom door.

"You _knew_?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"You knew and you didn't tell me? What kind of friend are you?"

"Sean, calm down, mate…"

"Calm down! Calm down? I can't believe you knew this whole time and you never told me! I'm supposed to be your best friend!"

"You are!"

"Well you have some way of showing it! Since when do you keep secrets?"

"I couldn't tell you, Sean! Harry made me promise."

"Oh so if Harry made you promise to jump off a bridge would you do that?"

"That's not even the right expression, mate."

"I don't really give."

I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the bed. Outside, Sean Weasley – who would kind of be like … my brother I guess – and Jake Parks, who lives with the Weasleys, continue to argue.

"C'mon, mate, what would you have done, huh?"

"I would have at least told my best friend! And what about Aria, huh? Don't you think you should have told her?"

Hearing my name gives me the incentive to cross the cold wooden floor to the door and open it just a crack to see what's going on. Jake and Sean – who are supposed to be my best friends – are standing not too far from my bedroom, glaring at each other.

"I couldn't have told Aria either! Harry told me I couldn't!"

"Harry told me this, Harry made me promise that!"

"Sean, c'mon, you know I couldn't have told!"

"Told what?" I ask at last, too curious to stay hidden any longer. Both of the boys freeze and turn to look at me very slowly. Jake offers me an embarrassed smile and Sean casts a meaningful glare over at him.

"Told what?" I ask again, stepping out of my room. Jake bites his lip.

"Nothing," he mutters. "It's not important."

"Not important!" Sean exclaims. "No, not important at all! Just something that could have changed her life!" he spits, a scary, angry look in his eyes. I take a step backwards just in case he decides to attack.

"Shut up, Sean. It wasn't my place to tell her and you know it!" Jake snarls back.

"Tell _what_?" I ask again, starting to get frustrated with my friends' bickering.

"Jake's known since Christmas who your father is!" Sean blurts quickly as Jake lunges at him. I stare at them rolling around on the floor, trying to comprehend what Sean just said.

"You didn't have any right to tell her that!" Jake snarls, trying to gain the upper hand. I roll my eyes at the two of them being so stupid, but I still feel like I've been betrayed in a way. Jake's known since _Christmas_? It's the middle of July!

"How did you find out?" I ask quietly, and the boys stop rolling around instantly. Sean looks expectantly at Jake, who refuses to look me in the eye.

"I uh… overheard Harry and Ron talking…" he mumbles uncomfortably.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask, already feeling those dumb tears rising to my eyes. I hate that I cry so much now.

"Harry made me swear I couldn't! He said your mum would tell you in her own time, and it wasn't my place to tell you!" he exclaims, still pinned underneath Sean.

"Oh," is all I say. I walk to my room calmly and pause in the doorway. He looks relieved. I cast him a look I can only describe as loathsome before walking into my bedroom and slamming the door as hard as I can. The bookshelf in the corner shakes from the impact, and a book that was lying haphazardly on top of it drops the floor with a dull 'thud'.

I sink into the chair beside the bookshelf and put my head into my hands. Jake _knew_? He knew and he never told me? If he had just told me – if _anyone_ had told me – my mum might still be alive! Does he realize that? I press the heels of my hands against my eyes, willing myself not to cry.

I don't know how long I sit like that before I hear a knock on my bedroom door for the second time today. I raise my head expectantly, but the door doesn't open, so it must not be Keira.

"Go away," I snap when the unknown visitor knocks again.

"Aria, can I please come in?" Sean's voice asks. I don't answer right away. A month ago, I felt like I could tell Sean anything. He was one of my closest friends. Now, he should still be my friend, but we're … related. It just feels so weird.

"Yeah," I sigh, curling up in my chair. I look around the ugly room as he opens the door. The bedding is probably older than I am, and the curtains – which were probably ugly to begin with – are so faded you can hardly see the design on them. My father promised to get me new bedding and new curtains, but so far, he hasn't even talked to me since he brought me here almost two days ago.

"Hey," Sean says, closing the door behind him. I glance up at him to see that he has a very uncertain expression on his face. I hate that we can't be close like we used to be.

"Hi," I answer quietly, looking away before he can catch my eye. I study my toenails closely, all too aware of his presence hovering near the bed. "You can sit down," I mutter, sensing his uneasiness.

The bed creaks as he sits, and he shifts uncomfortably for awhile before settling. I look up at him again. He's staring out the window. I look too just in case there's something interesting out there, but all I see is an extremely beautiful summer day that I can't bring myself to go outside to enjoy.

"This is kind of weird, isn't it?" he says at last. It's not really a question, not one that needs and answer, but I answer anyway.

"Just a little," I reply softly, looking at him again and holding his gaze for a few seconds.

"Hey, guess what?" he asks, a small grin making its away across his face. I raise my eyebrows at him in question. "You know how at the beginning of the school year I kind of … teased you about how you blush?"

At the mention of this incident, I feel heat creeping to my cheeks. I nod, and he smiles.

"Remember how I said it was 'Weasley-worthy'?" he asks, his smile getting bigger. I nod, not seeing where he's going with this. "Well, it isn't _just_ Weasley-worthy," he says. "It really _is_ the Weasley blush!"

I offer him a smile, but I really don't think it's that funny. His grin falters when he sees I don't find quite as much humor in it as he does. He looks down awkwardly.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles. "I just don't know what to say. I mean … I know it must be hard for you and everything…" he trails off, and I can tell how uncomfortable he is.

When I don't answer, he looks up at me again, but I've gone back to studying my toenails, blinking furiously behind a curtain of hair. He has _no idea_ how hard this is for me. Two and a half weeks ago, I was looking forward to a summer with my mum at Harry Potter's mansion with Sean and Jake and the rest of the Weasleys. Now I'm still spending my summer with the Weasleys, but I'll be spending summers with them for the next six years of my life – without my mum. I try to wipe my eyes discreetly.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Sean says, sounding sorrowful. "Maybe I should just go." He stands up and starts toward the door.

"Wait!" I exclaim. He pauses and looks back. "Please don't go," I say, wiping away my tears. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess. I haven't had anyone else to talk to since I got here."

Sean looks at me, seeming to contemplate whether or not I really wanted him to stay. Part of me didn't, but most of me did. I was really lonely. He shrugs and goes back over to sit on the bed. I stand up and go over to sit beside him.

"It's kind of cool, really," he says quietly when I settle next to him. I look at him questioningly.

"What's cool?" I ask.

"That we're related. You're like … my sister or something."

"It's kind of weird," I murmur, and he laughs slightly.

"Didn't you ever want any brothers or sisters?" he asks. I look up at him to find he's staring straight at me now. It's funny how he's not even biologically related to me, but he still looks like a Weasley. Maybe it's just the red hair and freckles. I don't know.

"Yeah, of course I did," I say in answer to his question. "But I didn't have a dad around, so that wasn't likely to happen any time soon," I add with a small smile.

"Well, think about it this way: now you have _three_ siblings!" he says with a smile. I smile back.

"That's true," I reply. "But it's still a little weird."

"Yeah…" he trails off, glancing out the window again at the bright blue sky. "Hey," he says suddenly, making me jump a bit. "Want to go outside or something? We could go for a walk or go swimming."

"Swimming?" I ask uncertainly.

"Yeah! There's this little pond just through the trees over there! Jake and I went all the time last summer. It's so much fun! There's even a slide!"

"A slide?" I question, raising an eyebrow. He nods and grins.

"It's not a real slide. It's just this muddy hill that gets really slippery when it's wet, so you slip all the way down to the bottom and land in the water! It's awesome!"

I smile. I haven't been swimming in so long… "I don't have a bathing suit," I say uncertainly. He shrugs.

"Wear shorts and a t-shirt or something," he says flippantly, waving the concern away. I nod.

"Okay. Let me get changed," I say, digging through drawers to find a pair of shorts and a dark t-shirt. He nods and slips out the door.

I change quickly, looking forward to going swimming. I haven't had a whole lot to look forward to in the last few weeks, and it feels nice to be doing something fun. Mum wouldn't have wanted me to waste away in my bedroom all summer.

Outside my bedroom door, Sean is waiting with two towels, wearing shorts and a light t-shirt. He hands one of the towels to me and starts across the large open area – kind of like a really plain common room almost – toward a bookshelf sitting against one wall. Heading _away_ from the staircase…

I follow him anyway, and when we reach the bookshelf, he pulls out a plain-looking brown book. Just like in those movies, the bookshelf swings inward, revealing a hidden staircase. He motions for me to go inside.

"Where does this lead?" I ask as the hidden doorway swings shut behind us. Sean leads the way down the winding staircase wordlessly. Within minutes we're standing in front of a plain brick wall. Sean feels around the wall for a few seconds before taking both hands to pry a loose brick out of place. In a flash a door appears in the wall and Sean pushes it open.

I blink in the bright sunlight as the side of the house returns to its normal appearance. Sean nudges me, and we start toward the trees.

"That was cool," I say enthusiastically. He smiles.

"We don't have as many secret passageways as Harry's house, and not nearly as many as Hogwarts, but we have a fair few," he says as the trees envelope us. We walk side-by-side along a faint path that twists and turns through the woods. The sun shines through the leaves, sending a dappled light down on everything, making strange patterns on the ground.

"Do any animals live in here?" I ask uncertainly.

"All kinds," he answers. "Nothing dangerous though," he adds quickly. "We have some wild kneazles – which are sort of like cats," he says. At the mention of the word 'cat' my heart clenches. I haven't been home for two and a half weeks – whose been feeding Crookshanks?

"I have a cat," I chime. Sean looks at me strangely. "He was Mum's cat," I continue a bit less enthusiastically. "I hope someone's been feeding him. His name's Crookshanks."

"That's a weird name," Sean says lightly. I smile.

"I didn't name him. Mum says that was his name when she bought him. She's had him for years – he's part kneazle, which is why he hasn't died of old age yet."

"So you know what a kneazle is," Sean says uncertainly. I nod.

"Mum told me," I answer. It feels weird to be talking so easily about Mum like this. But Sean's not all that hard to talk to. "So what other kinds of animals live in here?" I ask. He shrugs.

"We have some unicorns. I've never seen one, but Abby has – or so she says. I don't know if she was telling the truth. Dad says we have thestrals, but I wouldn't know," he says.

"What are thestrals?" I ask.

"They're kind of like horses. Dad says they're black and have these big bat-like wings, and they have fangs."

"Fangs?" I ask, shuddering.

"Yeah, fangs. Dad says they eat meat."

"So how come you've never seen one?" I ask.

"You can only see them if you've…" he pauses uncertainly.

"If you've what?" I insist.

"If you've seen someone die," he says softly. I feel my stomach knot up.

"Oh…" is all I can say. Sean looks up at me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's fine," I say, attempting a smile. He smiles back slightly.

"We're almost there," he says, changing the subject. "Just around the bend up here."

We round the curve and a fair-sized pond comes into view. I see the "slide" running down the hill. It's just a strip of dirt barely wide enough for a full-grown person to slide down that runs down the side of a grassy hill right into the water.

"Look," Sean says suddenly, his voice dropping to a whisper. He grabs my arm and points to the other side of the pond, near the mouth of the little creek that feeds the pool of water.

I look and feel my chest constrict as I draw a breath in sharply. Near the mouth of the creek is a bright gold unicorn foal, its head bent as it grazes. Not too far away is its mother, dazzlingly bright white, its single horn long and pearly. I try not to breathe too loudly.

Sean and I sit down slowly at the side of the pond, careful not to startle the unicorns. I've never seen one before – only read about them. I'd heard that as a third year in Care of Magical Creatures you got to work with them, but that was still two years off. I was really seeing them in the wild, not tied up outside Hagrid's hut.

The adult unicorn raises its head suddenly and looks straight at us. We freeze as it stares us down, seeming to dare us to try to make a move. Finally she lowers her head again and takes a long drink of water from the stream, still eyeing us carefully.

We sit there silently for five more minutes before the unicorn starts off through the woods. A few seconds later her foal follows, glancing back at us in what looks like mild surprise, like it hadn't noticed us before now. When they're gone, I let myself breathe normally again.

"That was amazing," I say, still in awe. Sean nods silently.

"I guess Abby was right," he says. "There really are unicorns in here. Wow."

"So…" I say, dipping my feet into the lukewarm water. "Are we going swimming now?"

Sean grins at me. "I don't know about me," he says, drawing out his words into a lazy drawl. "But _you_ are!" he exclaims, shoving me suddenly. I shriek as I fall into the water.

"Sean!" I howl as I come back to the surface, sputtering. He's sitting on the shore, laughing his head off. I swim back to the edge of the water. Sean smiles and offers me his hand.

"I'm sorry," he lies. "Let me help you out."

I grin at his stupidity. "No," I say, grabbing his hand. "Let _me_ help _you_ _in_!" I exclaim, yanking him forward headfirst into the water. I quickly jump out of the water before he can decide to get revenge.

"Aria," he says in mock-anger when he resurfaces. By that time I'm on the other side of the pond, scrambling up the hill that has the slide running down the side of it.

"Hey, how about you help me get some water on this slide?" I call down to him from the top of the hill. He spins around in the water and glares up at me.

"Okay," he says, a dangerous smile on his lips. He swims to the edge and hauls himself out of the water. He disappears behind some trees and returns a moment later with two plastic buckets.

"Come help me fill these buckets!" he calls up to me. I look at him dubiously. "Come on!" he says impatiently, dipping his pail into the pond. I don't move.

"Do you want a slide or what?" he asks impatiently, starting to fill the other bucket. Hesitantly I move down the hill toward him, still unsure. I'm pretty sure I know what he's going to do with that bucket…

When I get up next to him, he hands me one bucket and starts off up the hill. I follow him a few paces behind.

"Okay," he says when we get to the top, "pour your bucket down the slide." I do as he says, and the dirt quickly turns to thin mud as the water runs down the hill.

"Your turn," I say, turning to him just as he raises the bucket and dumps it over my head. I gasp at the suddenly wetness and gape at him. He grins.

"It slipped," he says unconvincingly. I smile at him dangerously.

"You wanna know what else is gonna slip?" I ask, and he starts to back away slowly. I advance on him, and he holds his hands out in defense.

"Hey now, Aria. Don't do anything you're going to regret," he says.

I'm not going to regret this… I continue to advance and he continues to back away, right toward the start of the slide… I jump toward him suddenly and he all but flies backward, his foot hitting the mud and making him slip. He falls backward and goes down the slide on his butt, all the way to the water.

"My turn!" I call cheerfully, jumping onto the slide feet first. I slip down into a sitting position and I fly down the side of the hill, sliding right down into the water on top of Sean.

"That was mean," he mutters as we resurface together. I laugh at him and shove him again. He shoves back and splashes at me. I smile happily. _This_ is what I've always imagined having a brother would be like.

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**A/N**: That's the first chapter! Please review! Parts of this was a little iffy, but I think it turned out alright. Thanks for reading! Cheers! 


	2. Arguements and Apologies

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the characters or places you recognize from any of J.K. Rowling's books, and I do not plan to steal the rights to said characters or places from said author by flying across the Atlantic Ocean and sneaking into said author's house. Then again, the rights to said characters and places are probably not in said author's said house, so it would absolutely pointless to fly across said ocean to sneak into said author's said house to steal said rights... Is the word 'said' starting to sound funny to you?

**A/N**: A crazy evil mutant monkey man stole AuthoressMegz's computer and decided to type chapter two of 'Adjustments'. He also really likes the word 'said'. Said evil mutant monkey man is now laughing his head off at the stupidity of his own disclaimer.

_(AuthoressMegz storms into computer room, glaring at evil mutant monkey man. She wrestles the computer away from him, starts to delete the disclaimer, but then reads said disclaimer, and starts laughing. She decides to leave said disclaimer because the evil mutant monkey man is crying and begging her not to delete it. She smiles and pats evil mutant monkey man on the head, promising him a banana if he's a good boy and never touches her lap top computer again. He promises and goes to watch the Discovery Channel – a program about monkeys of course – eating said promised banana.)_

**Real A/N**: Okay, that was really random… _(glances toward evil mutant monkey man to make sure he's still watching TV like a good boy)_ Anyway! Thanks to my reviewers from last chapter (few though that may be)! Special thanks to ProperT and NairobiDawn for sticking through most of 'Family Ties' with me, _and_ reviewing last chapter! You two are amazing! _(AuthoressMegz glances once more at evil mutant monkey man to make sure he's still being a good evil mutant monkey man _(if that's possible)._ evil mutant monkey man is sucking his thumb, fast asleep.)_ Awww. What a cute evil mutant monkey man!

Okay, on with chapter two!

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**Chapter Two: Arguments and Apologies**

Aria's POV

By the time Sean and I get back to the house – just around supper time, we're starting to feel a little guilty about not telling anyone where we went. We're also starting to feel guilty about not inviting Jake to go along. But when we walk through the back door, our guilt multiplies by ten – at least mine does.

"Where _were_ you?" he – meaning my (or rather, _our_) father – bursts out angrily, coming toward us and pulling the door shut as we stand there. I glance at Sean, and he gives me a slightly frightened look. Not exactly comforting.

"We just went swimming," Sean mumbles, looking down. I look away lest our father wants any further explanation from me.

"You went swimming," he repeats slowly, disbelievingly. I chance a quick look up at him. He looks like he wants to strangle us.

"Yes," Sean says, looking up.

"And you didn't think to tell anyone where you were going? Do you have any idea how worried we've been? You've been gone for nearly six hours! We thought something awful happened to you! What were you _thinking_?" he shouts, his face growing red with anger. I take a small step backwards.

"You weren't thinking were you?" he continues without waiting for an answer. "You just thought you and Aria would waltz out of here and spend six hours at some damn swimming hole in the woods where no one in their right mind would think to look for you. And you _didn't tell anyone_! How irresponsible can you get, Sean?"

"Hey," I say defensively, not liking that Sean's shouldering all the blame here. _I_ went too! They both look at me, Sean motioning wildly behind his – _our_ – father's back for me to shut up. "It wasn't just him you know. I went too." I regret what I've said instantly.

"Oh, good," he spits furiously. "Then _both_ of you can go to your rooms and _stay there_ for the rest of the night!"

"What about supper?" Sean asks, looking terrified at the thought of missing a meal.

"Go!" he shouts, pointing toward the stairs. I don't need a second reminder. I get out of there as fast as possible. I make it up the two flights of stairs in record time and close my bedroom door behind me as soon as I get through the doorway. A few seconds later I hear Sean's door close loudly.

I flop down on the bed and blink hard, willing myself not to cry. So he yelled at me, big deal. It's not like Mum never yelled. I've been yelled at before. But not by my father. I feel as if a heavy weight is resting on my chest and tears press hard against the back of my eyes.

"Quit being such a baby," I snarl aloud. "He hardly even talked to you, and you're sitting here crying like a little kid." I take a deep breath and sit up. Something's different in here. I look around, trying to figure out why the room feels so different. I glance toward the window and feel a pang of guilt.

The old faded floral drapes are gone. In their place are long gauzy light yellow curtains and a pull-down shade. He got me new curtains. And I wasn't even here to thank him. I glanced down at the bed to make sure he didn't get me new bedding as well, and I feel slightly more relieved to see that the ugly flowered bedspread is still there.

Sean's POV

This isn't fair. I take Aria out for some fresh air – which she obviously needed – and I get sent to my room! Okay, so we probably shouldn't have stayed out as long as we did, but I shouldn't be punished! Am I not supposed to be _bonding_ with my "sister"? Mum _told_ me to try to make her feel like she belongs here! So I try doing that and I get punished? What kind of justice is this?

I glance at the wall that separates Jake's room and mine. Dad doesn't know it, but we conned Uncle Harry into putting a secret door in the wall so we could get to each other's rooms easily when we were younger. We still use it, but we don't feel so sneaky anymore. Now we just use it out of laziness.

I know Jake's mad at me for ratting him out to Aria, but she deserves to know. How would he like it if I knew who his father was for months and I never told him? He'd hate me! Besides, he could have at least told _me_. I'm his best friend after all!

"Where were you?" His cold voice makes me jump. I look over to see him standing in the doorway between our rooms. He's glaring at me.

"None of your business," I snarl at him. He shrugs.

"Fine. Excuse me for caring." With that he turns around and the door disappears into the wall again.

"Damn it!" I shout, knowing if Mum hears me she'll be up here in a flash, scolding me, but I don't really care. Today is not my day. I try being nice to Aria and the rest of the family turns on me. Some family. I punch my pillow angrily, but the impact isn't hard enough to relieve anger.

There's a timid knock on my door and I jump up to answer it. Aria's standing there uncertainly. I stand aside so she can come in and she does. She looks around my room curiously.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. Is she kidding me? _She's_ sorry?

"For what?" I say with a laugh. Her eyes snap up to me defensively. She thinks I'm laughing at her. Oops.

"For getting you in trouble," she says matter-of-factly.

"_You_ didn't get _me_ in trouble," I laugh. "I would have gone to the swimming hole alone if you hadn't wanted to come, so I would have gotten in trouble anyway. So really _I_ got _you_ in trouble," I tell her. She stares at me.

"I don't want to argue about this," she sighs, sinking down onto my bed. She puts her chin in her cupped hands and sighs again.

"What's wrong?" I ask, sitting down beside her. She glances at me.

"This is weird," she says.

"What's weird?"

"This," she says, waving her hand around. "Everything. Me, being here. It's weird. Don't you think so?" she asks me, turning to look at me. It strikes me how much she looks like Dad. How come I've never noticed that before?

"Maybe a little," I answer. "But you were going to spend the summer with us anyway, weren't you?"

"But not as your sister!" she exclaims. "Not as a permanent part of this family!" I feel bad when tears spring to her eyes.

"It must be hard," I say quietly. "To go from living with one family to a different one without any warning at all."

"You have no idea," she sniffs, wiping her eyes.

"Jake would," I murmur, more to myself than to her. I'm starting to feel bad about being mean to him.

"Not really," she answers. "You said he's lived with you since he was just a little kid."

"Yeah, but can you imagine how much harder it would be to have to live with another family _knowing_ your mum was still out there and she didn't want you? And what about his dad? His dad abandoned him," I tell her. It suddenly hits me how strange it is that when we met, Aria, Jake, and I all had that in common – none of us knew who our real fathers were.

Of course, Mum's told me about my real dad – not that I think of him as my real dad, because I've never met him. She says he was a really great guy (but not as great as Dad) and that he died fighting in the war against Lord Volde-whatsit. She says I don't really look like him though.

"I guess it is harder for him," Aria says quietly, bringing me back to earth.

"What would you know?" For the second time today, I jump and look around to see Jake standing in the doorway between our bedrooms. Aria turns around and looks at him, surprised. He's glaring at the two of us.

"So now you're having secret meetings about me?" he sneers. I find myself frowning at him.

"So now you've taken to eavesdropping?" I retort angrily. He clenches his teeth and glares at me.

"Stop it!" Aria cries. "You're both being idiots! Just stop!" We both look at her in surprise. She's looking back and forth between us angrily.

"If you're going to act like this, I'm not sure I want to stay here for the rest of the summer," she snarls, getting up and storming out of my room. We watch her go in shock. Great. Now we're right back where we started.

Keira's POV

If lunch was quiet, supper is absolutely silent. Jake, Aria, and Sean have all decided to skip the evening meal I guess. This is probably the strangest thing I've ever witnessed. I have _never_ known Jake or Sean to skip a meal. Granted, Sean isn't allowed to come down for supper, but _Jake_? Jake's stomach is a bottomless pit! I would know, because I've had to feed it for the last ten years!

"Mummy, where are the boys?" Abby asks as we sit down to eat. I look at her, unable to miss the resemblance to Aria. Anyone with eyes could see they look exactly alike.

"They aren't hungry," I tell her. Abby looks shocked. I have to smile at her expression. Even at the age of four (almost five), she knows how strange it is for those two to miss a meal.

"Henry, don't be like this," Ron begs our son beside me. Henry is refusing to eat, obviously not happy with eating without his brother and Jake. He only ate at noon because Jake fed him.

"C'mon, Henry," I croon as he kicks the plastic seat of his high chair angrily. "Please eat, sweetheart." He clamps his mouth shut and turns away with his nose in the air. Ron sighs and gives up, going back to his own supper.

"How's Aria?" I ask tentatively, knowing I'm bringing up a sore subject. Ron's still upset with me for losing my temper with her this morning.

"She's …" he trails off thoughtfully. "She's been off with Sean, so at least she isn't isolating herself completely. And I think I heard her yelling at Jake right before I came downstairs, so she hasn't completely lost the ability to speak." I smile slightly.

"What were they arguing about?" I ask curiously.

"I don't know. All I heard was yelling," he replied with an unconcerned shrug.

"It's nice that she's getting along with Sean," I say pensively. Ron looks at me and shakes his head.

"It would be nicer if they told me where they were going before disappearing," he says angrily.

"Ron, really. They were having fun. So they shouldn't have stayed out so long, and yes, they should have told someone where they were going, but no harm, no foul, right?" I say. Ron sighs.

"I guess," he mutters, jabbing at his food irritably. "I suppose I shouldn't have yelled at them," he adds quietly.

"They'll get over it," I assure him. He looks up at me with a slightly disbelieving look on his face.

"Sean will. What about Aria, though? I mean, it's only been a couple of weeks since…" he doesn't finish. He swallows hard and looks back down at his plate. I feel my stomach clench uncomfortably at the constant reminder that he was still completely in love with Hermione when she died.

"She'll be alright too," I say confidently. He snaps his head up and glares at me. Obviously the wrong thing to say.

"How would you know?" he snarls. "Your mum's never died! You don't know if she'll be okay! How do you know that she's not sitting up in her room, hating me right now because I overreacted and yelled at her?"

I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off. "How do you know she isn't crying because she wishes her mum was still alive because _she_ probably didn't yell at her for going swimming?! How do you know she isn't lying in bed, thinking about how much she hates it here?"

"Well, Ron," I say slowly, glancing over his shoulder. "I know because she's standing right there."

Ron's POV

I turn very slowly to see Aria standing behind me, giving me a strange look of fear, awe, and wariness all rolled into one.

"Hello, Aria," I sigh, feeling the back of my neck burn. She offers me a crooked half-smile, like she's not sure if I'll attack or not.

"I know I'm supposed to be in my room," she says softly, "but I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" I ask, surprised. For what?

"For not telling you where I was going," she murmurs, looking down at her feet. "I shouldn't have just left." She pauses, looks up at me, then glances at Keira. "You were right by the way," she says.

Right about _what_ exactly?

"Mum wouldn't have yelled at me for leaving without telling her where I was going." Oh great, here comes the guilt. "She would have screamed at me until her voice was gone, and then she would have grounded me for a month."

I smile slightly. I know she's exaggerating just a little, but it's nice to know I'm not a terrible parent or anything.

"Are you hungry?" I ask her. She bites her lip and glances at Keira again. I look over to see my wife eating as if Aria isn't even there, ignoring her completely.

"Yes," she says quietly. I motion for her to sit down beside me and she does so slightly hesitantly. I summon a plate from the cupboard and set in front of her. She dishes up eagerly, and I can tell she's hungrier than she thinks she is. She has eaten since yesterday after all.

"Keira?" she says after a long moment of silence. Keira looks up at her expectantly. "I'm sorry for this morning," she says.

"It's alright, dear," Keira says, her face softening. Aria might not know it, but Keira actually _likes_ having her here. Keira loves Aria like her own daughter, but I doubt Aria can tell.

The meal is pretty much eaten in silence, broken only by Abby's occasional chattering. Aria never speaks unless spoken to, and she keeps her eyes on her plate. I think Keira and I make her nervous. I hate that she feels that way.

"So," I say, trying to get a conversation going. I'm reminded of the chess game we played last Christmas. Aria wasn't very talkative then either. "What do you want to do tomorrow?" I ask her. She looks up at me, surprised.

"I don't know."

"We could go shopping," Keira suggests. "Or we could see if Harry and Ginny are doing anything and get together with them."

Aria shrugs. I can tell she isn't comfortable enough to ask to do anything. She feels like a guest here.

"We could go see a Quidditch game," I suggest, and Aria's eyes light up. Hit the nail on the head there.

"Or we could do that," Keira says, put out that Aria doesn't want to do something more girly like shopping.

"I think the Harpies are playing tomorrow aren't they?" I ask Keira, which is stupid, because she doesn't care about Quidditch. She shrugs.

"Yeah," I say to myself. "I think they're playing Ireland."

"That should be a close game," Keira comments. "They're both pretty good teams."

"Ireland's better," Aria pipes up. I smile at her. At least she didn't inherit Hermione's disinterest in Quidditch.

"Who's your favorite team?" I ask as Keira stands to clear the plates away. Aria bites her lip, thinking.

"I don't really know," she says slowly. "I've never actually seen any of them play."

"We'll have to go to a lot of games this summer," I say, and she grins – actually grins. I haven't seen her grin like that in awhile.

"I'd like that," she says softly.

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**A/N**: It wasn't the best. I'm trying to get into the plot, but I have to set up everything first, so there _might _be some plot development next chapter. Or they might just go to a Quidditch game. :) 


	3. Hidden Lessons in Quidditch

**Disclaimer**: I don't have anything clever to say for this chapter because it's late at night, so I'll just say it: I don't own anything you recognize from J.K. Rowling's books.

**A/N**: Oh my goodness you have NO idea how sorry I am for this long delay! I've been so terribly busy that I just haven't had time! Teachers think it's fun to give us lots and lots of homework, so I've just been so preoccupied. Anyway, here's the extremely long-awaited chapter three! Sorry it's not very long. I figured you'd rather I just get it out instead of dragging it on and on. So here it is! Happy Reading!

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**Chapter Three: Hidden Lessons in Quidditch**

Keira's POV

When Ron came up with the brilliant idea to take Aria to a Quidditch game at dinner, he failed to remember that we also happen to have two twelve-year-old boys who are absolutely obsessed with Quidditch as well. He also forgot that last-minute Quidditch tickets cost a lot more than tickets bought even a couple days in advance. Besides, with two big favorites like the Holyhead Harpies and Ireland playing, the tickets are most likely sold out already.

When I bring this up as we get ready for bed, he simply glares at me. "What do you want me to do now, Keira? 'Oh, I'm sorry, Aria. Yes, I know I promised you that we'd go to a Quidditch game, but Keira here thinks it costs too much money to take Sean and Jake, and we can't go without them, so I'm sorry, but we're going to have to sit this one out.' You really want me to say that to her?" he snaps.

"Of course not," I say indignantly. "But you know you can't take Aria without taking Jake and Sean. It would be like taking Henry to your mum's without taking Abby."

"I understand that," he says through clenched teeth. "I am _planning_ on taking all three of them."

"And do you plan to sneak in as well?" I snap. He rolls his eyes and throws his t-shirt in the general direction of the clothes hamper. By some unreasonable stroke of luck it sails right in.

"There will still be tickets," he assures me, pulling the bedding back and sitting down on the old mattress wearily.

"And what if there aren't?" I ask, flinging myself down on the bed beside him. "What are you going to tell Aria?"

"I'll tell her that next time, we'll get tickets early," he answers with a shrug.

"You don't think she'll be a little disappointed? She might not show it, Ron, but she's looking forward to this! How's she going to feel if you can't get in?" I ask, trying to get him to see reason.

"We'll do something else then. I'll take her and Jake and Sean out back and we'll play some Quidditch of our own – it'll be just as fun."

I shake my head and get under the covers. "I think you should have thought a little more carefully before you offered to take your daughter to a Quidditch game," I inform him, lying down and turning away from him.

"Oh, so now she's _my _daughter?" he rages. "What happened to treating Aria like she belongs here?"

"I'm _trying_, Ronald!" I say, sitting up again and turning to him in exasperation. "I love her like she's my own daughter, and I'm _trying_ to show her that she's perfectly welcome here. I want her to see that, but she just doesn't! All she does is push me away!"

Ron turns to me, a look of outrage on his face. "Her mum is _dead_, Keira! You really expect her to just pick up and move on? It's only been three weeks! She doesn't _want_ a new mum!" he says angrily.

"I realize that," I reply calmly. "I'm just saying that I wish she would at least acknowledge me instead of ignoring me all the time."

"She's mourning. Her mum just died!"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," I say. I hate arguing with him. I love him so much, but sometimes I wish he would just shut up and admit he's wrong instead of turning something small into a giant argument that escalades into not speaking to each other for days.

"So that's how you solve a problem?" he sneers. "You just pretend it isn't happening?"

His words sting because he _knows_ that's not what it is. He just can't lose gracefully.

"Ron, just stop," I say softly, turning away from him again. I can feel his outraged stare on the back of my head

"Keira…" he says hesitantly, and I can feel his fingertips brush my shoulder uncertainly. He's never been so great at apologies either.

"Ron, I love you, alright? I just want what's best for our family – including Aria. Is it so wrong to be a little concerned?" I ask, facing him somewhat reluctantly. His face is caught between apologetic and annoyed. It's actually kind of cute.

"No," he admits at last. "You're probably right." _Probably._ He could never just admit that he was wrong. He's too damn stubborn. I fight the urge to roll my eyes at him.

"So, what if there aren't any tickets left?" I ask softly, knowing it's probably really stupid to bring this up again after the conversation we just had, but if I don't ask now I never will.

"I'll feel like the worst father in the world," he mutters, and I feel guilt wash over me instantly.

"Oh, Ron," I sigh, reaching out to him. He shakes his head at me and puts his head in his hands.

"Why am I so bad at this?" he asks softly.

"So bad at what?" I ask, confused.

"At being a father to Aria," he says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"It could be because you've never had an almost-twelve-year-old daughter before," I suggest, half joking. He doesn't smile.

"Is it really that different from two twelve-year-old boys?" he asks.

"Yes," I say firmly, and he glances at me for an explanation. "As little kids, the main difference between girls and boys is that boys are more interested in bugs and snakes and mud, and girls are more interested in dolls and stuffed animals," I start, and he rolls his eyes, obviously bored by this.

"But an eleven-year-old – almost twelve-year-old – girl matures a lot faster than a twelve-year-old boy. Girls start thinking about clothes and make-up and boys. Boys are still stuck on bugs and snakes and mud – and Quidditch of course. You tell a boy you'll take him to a Quidditch game, and then cancel, he'll be a little disappointed, sure. But you can take him "out back" as you said, and play some Quidditch with him, and he won't even remember that you were supposed to go to a match."

"And a girl?" Ron asks, paying attention now.

"You tell a girl you're going to take her somewhere – anywhere fun – and she's going to look forward to it for days – weeks even. If you suddenly cancel, she's going to be disappointed, and she's going to remember it no matter how many backyard games you play with her. The next time you ask her to go to a Quidditch match, she's going to say yes of course, but she's going to remember how you canceled on her last time, and she's going to be bracing herself for disappointment."

"Are all eleven-year-old girls like that? Because if Abby's going to be like that in about six years, I'm not sure I want her to grow up," Ron says with a small smile. I smile back, glad that his mood has improved slightly.

"Well maybe not _all_ eleven-year-old girls. I was certainly like that though. And I don't know her very well, but I think I see a little bit of that in her as well. I know she looked excited when you asked her if she wanted to go to a Quidditch game," I tell him.

"Great," he mutters. "Now she's going to hate me."

"She won't," I say with a smile, standing and going over to the fireplace with some Floo Powder. "Matthias Jordan, Head of Magical Games and Sports, owes me a favor."

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Ron's POV

"Go Cooper, go! Come _on_!" Jake shouts as one of Ireland's Chasers races toward the goal. One of Holyhead's Chasers is hot on his tail, just looking for the perfect opportunity to knock the Quaffle out of his hands and straight into another Holyhead Chaser's arms down below them.

Jake and Sean are leaning precariously over the edge of the railing of the top box – where Keira miraculously managed to get us tickets for today – screaming at Andrew Cooper.

Aria is standing at the railing as well, gripping the bar so tightly her knuckles are white. Her face is a mask of complete awe and excitement. It's so hard to believe she's never been to a professional Quidditch game before. I took Sean and Jake to their first match when they were younger than Abby.

This is Abby's first Quidditch game too. Keira wouldn't let me bring Henry because she didn't want to come, and she didn't think I could take care of Henry and Abby while simultaneously making sure Jake and Sean didn't fall out of the box to their deaths all by myself.

Abby squirms in my arms, wanting to get up near the railing with her big brother and sister (and honorary brother Jake). I take a couple steps toward the edge, but stop a few paces behind the boys and Aria. Abby squirms some more, complaining loudly. Aria turns toward her to see what all the fuss is about, and Abby reaches out her hands eagerly.

Aria looks up at me questioningly. I shrug and hand Abby to her. She probably won't be able to hold her for more than a few minutes anyway, but if Abby wants Aria, she's going to get Aria. I'm not going to hold a squealing four-year-old.

"C'mon Johnson!" Sean screams at the third Holyhead Chaser. I smile to myself when I realize that it's Angelina Johnson. I almost forgot that she plays professionally.

"What are you cheering for them for?" Jake demands when Sean whoops as Angelina scores for the Harpies.

"I don't have to cheer for Ireland if I don't want to," Sean retorts hotly. "Besides, I like Holyhead."

"I don't," Jake mutters sourly. I roll my eyes at them. Aria catches this and she grins at me. I smile back automatically, and she turns back to watch the game. Abby is still clinging to her, her eyes wide as the players whip back and forth faster than she can keep track of them. When the Irish supporters erupt in cheers because Cooper scores for Ireland, Abby claps along too.

"That's right," Jake says, noticing her. "You're a good little Irish supporter, aren't you?" Abby nods and smiles. Sean rolls his eyes.

"You boys are so strange," I sigh, making room for myself between Aria and Sean. Jake and Sean both look up at me with looks of protest, but when they see I'm joking, they let it go.

"Daddy, look!" Abby squeals as Ireland's Seeker, Jennica Donnelly goes into a steep dive. Holyhead's Seeker catches on right away and is soon hot on her tail.

"Go, Donnelly, go!" Jake roars, pounding his fists on the railing.

"Go, Donley, go!" Abby mimics, waving her hands in the air excitedly.

"Come _on_ Harding!" Sean groans at the other Seeker. "Can't you go any faster on that outdated Firebolt?"

I laugh at his outraged shout. "You should have seen that broom go when it first came out," I tell him. "Fastest broom in the world, that was. Harry got one the year it came out."

"Cool," Sean says, obviously unimpressed and not listening. He's clutching the railing and leaning so far out over it that I'm almost afraid he'll fall. I grab him by his collar and haul him back.

The Seekers are neck-and-neck now, glaring at each other and slamming into one another to get the other out of the way. I barely spot a glint of gold down near the ground. The dive becomes steeper.

"Come on, Donnelly!" Jake screams at the exact same time as Sean yells, "Come on Harding!" They look at each other and scowl before looking back at the pitch with renewed vigor.

Everyone is on their feet now, screaming and stomping at the two Seekers. Donnelly slams into Harding hard enough to send him veering off course for just a few seconds. Those few seconds give Jennica the advantage she needed. She surges forward with a giant burst of speed and seizes the snitch triumphantly, pulling out of her dive just in time to avoid slamming headfirst into the ground. Jake cheers.

"YES!" he screams.

"Damn," Sean mutters. I pat him on the shoulder.

"Just a game, son," I tell him with a smile. It's a very old joke, but it always makes him laugh.

"Tell that to the Holyhead Harpies," he says with a grin.

The Ireland fans are screaming and shouting with joy, while Holyhead supporters are hanging their heads in defeat and forking over bets to Ireland supporters.

"Yay, Ireland!" Abby says, clapping her hands with delight. I smile at her.

"You," I tell her, lifting her out of Aria's arms, "are _silly_." I tickle her, and she giggles hysterically.

"Yay, Ireland!" she says again, still laughing.

"Yay Ireland," Jake agrees with a grin. Sean smiles and rolls his eyes at Aria, but she's not watching our little exchange. Her eyes are still fixed on the Quidditch pitch, watching as the Ireland players are carried away on the shoulders of their screaming fans.

"You okay?" I ask her, handing Abby to Jake. She looks at me with a sad smile.

"How could Mum not have liked this sport?" she asks softly, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's amazing."

"She didn't _dislike_ it," I tell her. "But it wasn't everything to her. When Gryffindor won at school, she was pleased, sure. But if we lost, she didn't see what the big deal was." Aria looks outraged at the idea.

"Not a big deal?" she asks incredulously. I laugh. She sounds just like me when I was in school.

"Your mum was more interested in her education than in a sport that could very well kill you," I say with a smile. She smiles back slightly.

"I miss her so much," she whispers, looking down at her hands. I put an arm around her shoulders and hug her.

"I know," I murmur into her hair, kissing the side of her head. She leans against me and sighs. "I know."

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Keira's POV

"How was the game?" I ask casually, not even looking up when Ron and the kids come into the kitchen.

"Awesome," Jake says instantly.

"Holyhead lost," Sean says sadly.

"Yay Ireland!" Abby cheers, clapping her hands together. I smile at her as she wraps herself around my leg.

"Well aren't you cute," I tell her. She grins up at me.

"Did you enjoy the game, Aria?" I ask her, noticing that she's hanging back slightly. She looks at me and shrugs before turning around and going upstairs. I hold back a sigh. It's so hard to be a mother to a girl that doesn't want one.

Jake and Sean look over their shoulders at the staircase with slightly worried looks on their faces.

"She's fine," Ron says firmly. "She's just tired, that's all."

None of us believe him, but the boys let it go. Abby runs off to find her little brother, and the boys start up the stairs somewhat reluctantly, not speaking to each other, still looking concerned.

"So how is she really?" I ask Ron as he gets a glass of water. He looks at me over the rim of the glass with raised eyebrows.

"I told you she's fine," he says. I roll my eyes.

"I know she's not _fine_. What's wrong?" I persist.

"Maybe you don't remember that her _mum died_," he snarls, slamming the cup down on the counter. Water splashes all over the counter and the floor.

"I _do_ remember that, Ronald," I say, getting annoyed. Why can't he just drop this already?

"Well then maybe you should just leave her alone. She needs time to get over it! Don't push her. She needs more time. Besides, you aren't her mother, so you should probably stop trying to pretend you are," he says coldly, walking out of the kitchen without looking at me. I watch him go in shock.

I don't follow him. I know better than to start a screaming match – I'll probably lose. I stare after him, still stunned. Of all the things he could have said – of all the words he could have chosen instead of those words – he had to say the one thing he knew would be exactly like a good hard slap in the face.

I love Ron – I've loved him practically since we first met. And I understand that sometimes he just can't stop himself from saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But other times he deliberately says hurtful things just to get a rise out of me. Like now for instance.

Aria obviously doesn't want a new mum – I understand that. I'm not trying to _be_ her mum. I just wish she'd treat me with a little respect. I may not be her mother, but I'm still in charge – this is still _my_ house! She still has to listen to what I say – obey _my_ rules. She could at least make an effort to be nice to me – it isn't like what happened is my fault.

And Ron doesn't need to say that to make me see it. I've never pretended I was Aria's mum, and I'm never planning to.

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Aria's POV

I can't concentrate on anything. The tension in this house is too thick. I set aside the book I've been trying to read for the last hour. I've only gotten two pages read. It's so hard to focus that I've just been reading the same sentences over and over and over, but nothing has registered yet. I'm not even sure what the main character's name is.

I glance outside. The sun is sitting low in the sky, getting ready to set. The sky is streaked with red and orange and gold, coloring my room with the strangest mixture of colors. It's so beautiful. It's the kind of sunset Mum would take me out into the backyard to watch when I was really little. We'd take out a picnic blanket and lie in the grass together as the sun set, streaking the sky with the prettiest colors I'd ever seen. We stopped doing that when I turned ten and decided I was too cool to hang out with my mum and have her tuck me in.

I sigh and draw my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my knees and resting my chin on top of my arms. Sometimes, I can almost forget that she's gone. I can enjoy myself and it's almost like she's still alive, but she's just not there. And sometimes – like now for instance – I can just feel this heavy weight on my chest pressing down, and I miss her so much I have to cry.

As the sun sinks down in the sky, I can't help but feel like she's somewhere nearby, watching me. Somewhat instinctively, I turn my head. I know it's stupid, but I feel a stab of disappointment when I only see my bookcase and my chair in the corner there.

There's a hesitant knock on my door and I sight softly. "Come in," I call, turning around and rearranging my expression carefully.

"Hey. I think we need to talk."

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**A/N**: Dun, dun DUNN! Who is it? Who's at the door? Is it Keira? Is it Ron? Jake? ABBY? Ok, it's not Abby. But who is it??? Oooh… lol, thanks for reading! Please review! Cheers, Megz 


	4. More of Aria's Issues

**Disclaimer**: I still do not own Harry Potter or anything else you recognize from J.K. Rowling's books.

**A/N**: Once again, I'm super sorry for the long delay. I've just been super busy, and I _know_ I keep saying that. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll _try_ updating sooner. Happy reading!

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**Chapter Four: Some More of Aria's Issues **

_Aria's POV_

_There's a hesitant knock on my door and I sight softly. "Come in," I call, turning around and rearranging my expression carefully._

"_Hey. I think we need to talk."_

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Jake comes into the room uncertainly, as if he's not quite sure he really wants to do whatever he's about to do. I try not to change my expression as he fidgets nervously near the foot of my bed.

"You can sit," I tell him quietly. He nods and sits down on the bed tentatively.

"Um… Look, Aria," he starts, still not looking at me. "I know things have been a little weird between us the last few days…" Weird? That's a bit of an understatement.

"Yeah," I murmur. "Just a little."

"I want to say I'm sorry for the way I treated you yesterday," he says so quietly I almost don't hear him. I shouldn't have gone off on you like I did. And I'm sorry I never told you about your dad."

I look up at him to find him looking at me intently. I offer him the smallest of smiles. "It's alright," I whisper. "You were upset."

"That didn't give me the right to yell at you like that. You didn't do anything wrong. I mean, if you want to hang out with Sean and talk about me, feel free," he says with a slight laugh, trying to make me smile. I let him have another tiny smile to show the humor wasn't completely lost on me.

"Friends?" I ask. He smiles.

"Friends."

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Keira's POV

"Ron," I say softly, knocking on the door to his study, where he's been sitting in isolation for the last hour.

"Come in."

"Ron, are you alright?" I ask, going in and sitting down on the old worn couch beside him. He looks at me and sighs.

"Yeah. I'm sorry I kind of freaked out at you earlier."

"That's alright. I know it's not just Aria who's having a hard time with this," I murmur, taking his hand. He squeezes my hand slightly and puts his arm around my shoulders.

"Aria's just … she's not adjusting like I thought she would," he sighs. "I mean, she loved the Quidditch game, and she's spending time with Sean, but she really doesn't like being around you and me. She hardly lets anyone touch her. I think we make her nervous."

"I think it's just me," I tell him with a sigh. "I don't know what I did to earn that girl's disapproval. She barely speaks to me. Last night at dinner was the first time she's spoken to me since she arrived here."

"Well, she's only been here for a few days," Ron says.

"I guess so," I reply softly. "But it isn't like I'm trying to be her mum, Ron. I know she doesn't want a new mum. I understand that, I really do. I just want her to feel comfortable here. I want her to feel like she belongs here. I could love her if she'd let me." I feel unbidden tears spring to my eyes, and I hate myself for getting all emotional about this.

"I know," he whispers. "You just have to give her time. We all do. She'll come around eventually."

"I hope so. Because this house is going to feel very awkward until she does."

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Sean's POV

The next morning I wake up to a persistent tapping noise somewhere above my head. I sit up reluctantly and look outside to see two familiar owls waiting to be let inside. One of them is Aria's barn owl, Star. I've been wondering where he got off to. Guess he went and camped out at our friend Skyla's house for awhile because the other owl is Skyla Janes's Great Gray owl.

The two owls fly in eagerly when I open the window. Star settles on top of my wardrobe, but Skyla's owl, Moonlight, flies over and sits on my headboard with a rather thick-looking envelope attached to his leg.

I take the envelope and flip it over to see my name printed carefully in Skyla's neat handwriting. I tear it open.

_Dear Sean,_

_How's your summer going? Mine's pretty good so far, but my dad has been horrible. He keeps going on about my hair. He thinks it's too long, too curly, too blonde – Merlin, he's annoying! If he had it his way, I'd have it shorter than yours. I think he secretly wishes I had been a boy. Mum doesn't want to have anymore kids either, so he's probably never going to get a son like he wanted. I wish he would just leave me alone. He's been trying to get me to do guy stuff with him like football games and going fishing and all that stuff Muggle men like to do. Too bad Aria's not here, because I bet she loves that._

_How is Aria? I haven't heard from her yet, and when Star showed up at my house without a letter, I was kind of worried. Is everything alright? I'm pretty much completely isolated from the magical world. My mum won't let me subscribe to the _Daily Prophet _because it costs money, so I have no idea what's going on. Are you at Professor Potter's house for the summer or haven't you left yet? I'm still trying to convince my parents to let me come, but they're not really buying it. They don't seem to think it's proper to spend the entire summer with a _boy's_ uncle. They're so old-fashioned._

_I miss all of you so much! I hate being home here. This girl who lives just down the road from us (she's a Muggle) is so annoying. She's the same age as us, but she's such a baby. She's always calling me and asking if I want to come over and play with her. She plays stupid games like house. Yesterday she came over here and tried to get me to play 'witches' with her. She had it _all_ wrong. I think she watches television too much. She thinks you do magic with your hands and that you can just disappear and appear at will. I didn't have the heart to tell her you actually need a license to do that._

_Anyway, what's going on with everyone?! I'm so lonely!!! You should convince your mum to write my parents a letter, _insisting_ that I come stay with you for the summer. You know, like… I should be around my own people. Or that I could learn so much from spending a summer in _Harry Potter's_ house! That would actually be true. You're so lucky he's your _uncle

_Hey, has Aria's mum told her who her father is yet? Aria mentioned that she was going to find out the beginning of summer vacation. She was all excited about it._

_Oh darn. Dad's calling up to me that he just bought us two tickets to a football game this afternoon. I hate sports!! HELP!!!! Please write back soon. I need news here! Tell Jake and Aria (if you're already at Prof. Potter's house with her) that I'll write to them soon._

_With love,_

_Skyla_

I stare at the letter in disbelief. She doesn't know about Aria's mum… I swallow hard as I try to decide if I should tell her or not. I probably should, because otherwise she'll write to Aria and ask her all the same stuff she asked me. It makes sense that she wouldn't know though. She doesn't get the _Daily Prophet_, so how could she?

A knock on my door makes me jump. "Come in," I say.

The door swings open to reveal Aria standing there, still in her pajamas, a sheet of parchment in her hand that looks suspiciously like a letter.

"Good morning," I say somewhat dully. She comes inside and sits down on my bed.

"Who's that from?" she asks, pointing to my letter.

"Sk–" I'm cut off by Star swooping down and landing on Aria's shoulder. He nips her affectionately, and Aria spends a few minutes cooing over him and telling him how much she'd missed him. After awhile she turns back to me.

"What were you saying?" she asks pleasantly.

"The letter's from Skyla."

Her face lights up at the mention of one of our best friends. "Can I read it?"

"Um… sure," I say, not knowing what else I _can_ say.

I watch her carefully as she reads, keeping a close eye on her expression. Before too long her face clams up and her expression becomes hard. I feel a pang of guilt. I shouldn't have let her read it. She hands it back roughly once she's finished.

"Are you alright?" I ask. She shrugs, not looking at me.

I fold the letter up and set it aside. "Who's your letter from?" I ask softly. She turns back toward me slowly, handing it over for me to see. I skim it quickly. It's from some woman named Eva, and it's pretty much about how she's been taking care of the house for Aria.

The house. I'd completely forgotten about that. You know, the fact that Aria still had another house somewhere, where she used to live with her Mum. The same house she grew up in.

"Who's Eva?" I ask, to avoid any other sensitive subjects.

"She was one of my mum's best friends. They've worked together since I was really young," she says, her voice only shaking slightly when she mentions her mum.

"Oh," is the brilliant answer I come up with. I wish I knew what to say.

"I don't want to go back there," she whispers suddenly, surprising me.

"What?" I ask, not understanding.

"To that house. I don't want to have to go back there and see it exactly like she left it when she came to pick me up, not knowing –" She breaks off as her voice catches in her throat.

"Are you alright?" I ask. She takes a deep breath and nods. Then she looks at me. Tears are welling in her eyes, and I can see she is most certainly _not_ alright from the expression on her face.

Instinctively, I reach forward and hug her, which I haven't dared to do since that day at her mum's memorial service when she all but shoved me away from her. She practically melts into me, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me back.

"You know you can talk to me," I tell her softly. She nods and sniffs, pressing her forehead against my shoulder.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess," she mumbles, laughing bitterly.

"You have every right to be a mess," I tell her with a smile. She laughs more easily now.

She pulls back, her face streaked with tears, but smiling nonetheless. "I think I'm going to go take a shower," she says, touching her stringy hair with distaste. "My hair is so dirty it'll stand up on its own," she adds with a smile. I laugh as she stands up. I hand her the letter from Eva, and she takes it somewhat hesitantly.

"I'll talk to you later?" she asks, fingering the parchment uncertainly.

"Yeah," I say. "Talk to you later." She smiles at me – a real smile – and leaves, closing the door softly behind her.

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Keira's POV

I'm downstairs making pancakes and bacon for Henry and Abby's breakfasts when Ron comes down, looking unusually alert for this hour.

"Good morning," he says with a smile, kissing Henry and Abby each in turn. Abby giggles.

"Good morning, Daddy," she says with a smile.

"Morning, Daddy," Henry echoes with a grin.

"Good morning," he says to me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me sweetly. I laugh at his friendliness.

"It's nice to see you too," I say when he pulls away. "What's put you in such a good mood?"

"What? I can't be happy to see my beautiful wife and children in the morning?" he asks, mock-indignant. I smile at him.

"Not usually," I say with a laugh. He just smiles.

"It's just a good day, that's all," he says. I raise my eyebrows at him, but don't question him further.

"Hungry?" I ask, gesturing to the food on the stove.

"You have to ask?" he jokes, sitting down beside Abby. She smiles up at him adoringly. That little girl idolizes her father.

"Daddy, when are we going to another Quidditch game?" she asks. Ron's smile falters slightly, but he fixes his expression quickly.

"Soon," he promises. He avoids looking at me.

"How soon?" she asks, a slight whine crawling into her voice.

"As soon as I can get tickets," he assures her. "But maybe we can play some Quidditch later today when Daddy gets back from work."

"You have to work today?" I ask, feeling dismay wash over me like a tidal wave. "I thought you were taking time off."

"They can only give me so much time off before they need me again. I'm sorry, Keira. I thought you knew," he says, his brow furrowing thoughtfully.

"No, I didn't," I say softly, turning to get the food off the stove before it burns.

"Everything will be fine," he insists. "Harry said he'd stop by later, so you should be alright."

"Oh, yes, because that's _just_ what I need," I snap. "For your brother-in-law to come over to make sure I haven't killed your daughter yet."

Abby looks at me when I say this. "Not you, sweetheart," I assure her, noticing her slightly alarmed look. She eyes me somewhat warily nonetheless.

"Keira, please. Harry _offered_ to come over here. What was I supposed to say? 'No, Harry. Keira doesn't want you to come over because she thinks that she can spend an entire day with Aria without arguing with her. Really, everything will be fine.'?

I feel myself bristling at his words, but I don't rise to the bait. "Okay. I guess I'll make extra sandwiches for lunch then," I say simply. Ron nods curtly.

"You know, I'm not so hungry anymore. I'll grab something on the way. I have to get going. I'll be home around six. Love you, bye." And then he disapparates and is gone. I sigh. Why does everything have to turn into an argument with him?

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Aria's POV

After taking a shower and slipping into some plain gray shorts and a simple black tank top, I brush my curly wet hair back away from my face and head downstairs. No one is in the kitchen, but Jake is lying on the couch in the living room, engrossed in a Quidditch magazine.

"Hey," I say casually. He practically jumps out of his skin.

"Aria! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he exclaims, clutching his chest for effect. I just smile at him.

"Where is everyone?" I ask, sitting down when he moves his feet for me.

"Keira took Abby and Henry to the swimming hole and Sean is still in his room I think," he says with a shrug. I nod.

"So what do you want to do?" I ask. "It's such a nice day outside."

"We could go flying!" he says enthusiastically. I bite my lip uncertainly. As much as I love Quidditch, I've only been flying once or twice, and never higher than about ten feet of the ground.

"I don't know…"

"It'll be fun!" he insists.

"We shouldn't," I say, thinking of the last time I did something without asking first.

"We're not gonna get yelled at for flying around the backyard," he says in exasperation. "Come on, Aria. Live a little!"

"Some people don't live at all," I snap, suddenly very irritated with him. His expression changes very quickly to shock, and I realize that we've both crossed a line somewhere.

"You sure are weird, Aria," he says, and I know that I shouldn't have said anything. "You take completely normal, every day conversations and you always manage to turn it into something about _you_. Merlin, you're self-centered," he mutters, getting up and walking away, shaking his head the whole time in disbelief.

"I'm so stupid," I moan to myself, burying my head in one of the throw pillows. "Why do I always do this?"

"What did you do this time?" a familiar voice asks from behind me with a slight chuckle. I lift my head and smile at him.

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Harry's POV

Aria smiles at me as I walk over and sit down beside her on the couch. The same smile Hermione always gave me whenever I used to catch her talking to herself. Somewhere deep inside my gut, something twinges painfully at the memory of Hermione.

"So what did you do?" I ask again.

"I just snapped at Jake for absolutely no reason at all," she groans.

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah, uh-oh," she echoes tonelessly.

"Hey," I say, reaching over and putting a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at me again with searching blue eyes. "It'll be alright."

"Will it?" she asks, and I know we're not talking about Jake anymore. "How do you know?"

"I realize it isn't the same, but I lost my parents when I was young."

"Younger than me," she points out.

"Yes. But you got to spend eleven years with your mum, didn't you? I got to spend one with my parents," I say, holding up one finger for emphasis. "_One_ year. You got to know your mum. Got to love her and know you were loved back. I never got any of that."

"Yeah," she murmurs, looking down again. "But that just makes it harder, doesn't it? I mean, how can you miss someone you don't even remember?" she asks, looking up at me quickly.

"It's a lot easier than you think," I murmur. Then I look at her again. "Besides, didn't you spend quite a few years missing your own father?"

"That's different," she mutters defensively.

"Really?"

She looks at me defiantly for a few moments before biting her lip and looking down once more. "No," she whispers.

I lift her chin gently until she's looking me in the eye again.

"Listen to me, Aria. I know this is hard for you. I can't even imagine how hard this is. But this family loves you, and they all want the best for you. Don't ruin that, Aria, because they're the only chance you have at anything close to a normal life," I tell her bluntly. She winces, but doesn't look away.

"But it's hard," she whispers, tears filling her eyes very suddenly. "It's so hard." And with that she collapses into tears.

"Oh, Aria," I sigh, hugging her. She leans against me and sniffles pitifully. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I wish there was something I could do."

"Unless you can bring my mum back, then no," she mutters, pushing away from me slowly.

"I wish I could," I tell her honestly. "I really wish I could."

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**A/N**: Well, that's all for now. I'll try to get an update up as soon as possible! Thanks for reading! Toodles! 


	5. Keira's Big Mistake

**Disclaimer**: Your wonderful, amazing, beautiful, smart, funny, and talented authoress (that'd be me) is still not as wonderful, beautiful, smart, funny, and talented as the absolutely awesome J.K. Rowling, so I still do not own Harry Potter or anything of his world. I just want to write fanfiction! Please don't sue me!

**A/N**: Okay! You should all be amazingly proud of me because I _finally_ wrote a chapter with _major _plot development AND I actually got it out before an entire month had flown by without update! Yay me! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers thus far! You're all amazing! Happy reading!

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**Chapter Five: Keira's Big Mistake**

Sean's POV

The rain pouring down outside is depressing. It's been doing that since noon, and Mum has forbidden us all from going outside until it lets up. By the looks of the huge storm clouds outside, it doesn't look like it's going to do that anytime soon. And it's only three o'clock.

Uncle Harry is still here, but he's mostly playing with Abby and Henry now. The minute they found out he was here they latched onto him like little leeches.

Aria has been sitting on the loveseat under the window for over an hour, staring at the rain pelting the glass with a forlorn expression on her face. She looks trapped.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice Mum glance at her and sigh heavily to herself before going back to wiping up the juice Henry spilled earlier. I look back and forth between her and Aria a few times before getting up from the couch and walking into the kitchen.

"She's wallowing," Mum says quietly when she sees me.

"She's sad," I answer simply, going to the cupboard. I open the door and peer at the assorted food curiously.

"You don't need any of that," Mum sighs, shutting the door in my face. I turn to her to protest, only to see a plate of brownies staring me in the face. Mum smiles at me.

"Thanks," I say, taking two – one for me, and one for Aria. Mum just smiles and sets the plate in the center of the table.

"Hey," I say, plopping down on the loveseat beside Aria. She turns to look at me.

"Hi."

"Brownie?" I ask, holding one out to her. She shakes her head and goes back to staring at the rain.

"Mum loved the rain," she whispers, so quietly I almost don't catch it. I look at her sad smile, and I wish there was something I could do to make her feel better.

"We should do something fun," I say. Aria doesn't even grace me with a look. She just sighs and continues to stare at the rain.

"We could play chess," I suggest.

"No thanks," Aria sighs, resting her chin on her folded arms. "You could ask Jake though. I'm sure he would."

"Aria, come on," I groan. "I'm bored."

"Go ask Jake," she repeats tersely. "I don't want to play chess."

"Please? I'll let you win," I say, trying to make her smile. She just glares at me. She really doesn't want to play chess.

I roll my eyes at her as I stand up. "Be that way," I mutter, starting toward the stairs to find Jake.

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Keira's POV

Seeing Sean practically begging Aria to do something with him was just about as much as I could take from that girl. I understand she's _mourning_ and everything, but really. My son shouldn't have to _beg_ to spend time with someone who was, up until about three weeks ago, one of his _best friends_.

"Aria," I say, walking over to her. She turns to look at me briefly before going back to staring out the window.

"Do you need me for something?" she asks tonelessly. I hold back a sigh.

"Don't you think you should go do something? Go have fun with the boys?" I ask, trying not to sound as angry as I feel.

"Why?" she asks, still not looking at me.

"Because, you can't just sit in front of the window all afternoon," I say, exasperation working its way into my voice.

"Why not?" she asks, her eyebrows raising in the exact same way Ron's do whenever he thinks I've made a stupid suggestion. It's infuriating.

"Aria, really. Why don't you get up off that couch and go find Jake and Sean? Staring at the rain all day can't be that interesting."

Aria finally turns to look at me, and the look she gives me would be downright frightening coming from someone older than almost twelve.

"It's none of your business if I want to sit and stare at the rain all day, is it?" she snaps, her blue eyes icy. For maybe half a second I consider backing off, but then I realize who I'm talking to. My eleven-year-old step-daughter just told me off!

"You will _not_ speak to me this way in _my_ house," I say, grabbing her roughly by the arm as she tries to turn away from me, a look of disgust on her face. Her head snaps around instantly at my touch.

"Last time I checked," she snarls, her voice dangerously low, "_I_ lived here too." She jerks out of my grip and jumps up.

"What do you think you're doing?" I ask her. She stops mid-stride.

"Leaving. Apparently, this is _your_ house. Tell _that_ to my father when he asks me where I am," she yells, whirling around. She strides out the sliding glass door and disappears into the pouring rain.

"Aria!" I yell, running to the door. I stop abruptly as raindrops splash onto my face. "Aria, come back here!" I scream into the rain. "You're being crazy!" No response. I peer into the dark gray afternoon storm, but I don't see any sign of her. Where in hell has that girl gone?

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Aria's POV

I run through the rain and into the forest, and I keep running. The rain isn't as hard in the woods, with all the tree coverage and everything, but every time I run through a clearing it's like getting a bucket of cold water dumped on my head. But I can't stop.

I look behind me just in case she actually followed me out here. There's no one in sight. With a hollow laugh, I keep going. In a couple hours I'll go back and walk in, and she'll smother me in gratefulness that I'm okay. I should probably go back before my father gets home of course. Otherwise I'll get yelled at. Keira wouldn't dare yell at me _or_ tell my father because then I'll tell him why I left in the first place, and she wouldn't want that.

Slowing my pace to a quick jog, I look around me. Where am I? Am I anywhere near the swimming hole. Confused, I stop for just a second, but I start up again immediately because my legs start cramping up instantly. Where _am_ I? A twig snapping somewhere nearby scares me into running harder. Seriously, where am I?

I take a sudden turn when I hear another twig snap. I glance over my shoulder. Is something following me? I see a flash of something brown or black. I jump and push myself to run faster, taking another turn. Suddenly a searing pain goes up my right ankle and I fall, scraping up my already scratched and sore feet and knees. My hands sting as they catch my weight and my right arm collapses from the impact, sending my head crashing right into a very hard rock. And then everything goes black.

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Ron's POV

When I get home at eight o'clock, the house is unusually quiet. Feeling slightly unnerved, I look around just to make sure my family hasn't decided to stage a surprise party or something. But the kitchen is completely empty. That's strange…

I walk into the living room cautiously, and I'm absolutely shocked to see the entire family – minus Aria, plus Harry – sitting there silently. Keira is sitting on the couch, her head in her hands, looking absolutely distraught. Sean and Jake are sitting on the loveseat sullenly, glancing at each other and shrugging every now and then. Abby and Henry are sitting on the floor near the fireless fireplace, playing with some of Henry's blocks. Harry is sitting on the other end of the couch from Keira, looking like he's going to tear his hair out.

I open my mouth, but close it quickly, rethinking my original choice of words. I was almost ready to say 'where's the funeral' but the sentence brings back a sharp pang somewhere in the region of my stomach.

"Is everything alright?" I ask. Keira's head snaps up and any color left in her already pale face is gone instantly.

"Ron!" she squeaks, jumping up. "You're late."

"I know," I sigh. "I'm sorry. They kept me there longer than I thought they would." I wait for her to give me a look or roll her eyes, but she doesn't. She just nods distractedly. Something must be seriously wrong.

"What's going on?" I ask, starting to feel worried.

"Is it still raining?" Keira asks, her voice still unnaturally high. I give her a puzzled look.

"Yes…" I look around at all the solemn faces, and something inside of me clenches painfully. "Where's … where's Aria?" I ask, looking around. Keira moans and sinks back onto the couch.

"Oh, Ron," she groans. "I messed up this time. I _really_ messed up." She buried her head in her hands.

"_What_ happened?" I ask.

"You might want to sit down first," Harry sighs, standing up and guiding me over to the couch.

Great. I get to hear about another screaming match between my wife and daughter that ended up in Aria isolating herself from the rest of her family and refusing to come out of her room.

Keira stands up and paces back and forth in front of me for about half a minute before sitting down on the coffee table and looking at me.

"We had a bit of a row," she starts, taking a deep breath.

"Okay," I say.

"See, she was just _sitting_ there, staring out at the rain, and she'd _been_ sitting there for over an _hour_. Sean was asking – begging practically – her to do something with him because he was so bored, but she didn't want to do anything except sit in front of the window staring at the rain, and Sean went upstairs looking rather sad and everything, and I just kind of snapped. I mean, she completely blew him off for the _rain_!"

Keira stands up again and paces back and forth for a little bit. She looks at me and sighs, sitting back down on the table, barely on the edge of it.

"And then?" I ask.

"And then I kind of blew up at her. I went off on her about how she shouldn't waste the afternoon sitting in front of a window, just watching the weather, and she said something about how it was none of my business if she wanted to stare at the rain all day…"

"And what did you say?" I sigh.

"I told her not to talk to me like that in my house, and she kind of … freaked," she says, biting her lip and looking at me uncertainly.

"So should I go talk to her now?" I ask, standing up.

"I'm not done," Keira says, standing up as well. I look at her warily.

"What else happened?"

"She … um … she kind of screamed that the last time she checked, this was her house too, and then she … she… well, Ron the thing is…"

"What did she do?" I ask, preparing for her to tell me that she broke her bedroom door or something from slamming it so hard.

"She kind of … ran out of the house into the rain, and hasn't come back yet?" she squeaks, backing away from me quickly.

"WHAT?" I scream. "Are you telling me that my daughter is out there _right now_ in the RAIN and you have _NO IDEA_ where she is?!"

"Yes?" Keira looks at me pleadingly. I glare at her.

"I can't believe you Keira. I trusted you with her," I say softly, grabbing the heaviest coat I could find on the way out the door. "I'll be back after _I_ find _my_ daughter," I add cruelly. I see the hurt on her face as if I'd slapped her, but right now, I could honestly care less.

I head out into the storm, all but slamming the glass door behind me. The rain is still beating down, and I run to the cover of the trees. Where would Aria have gone? In the dark, it's nearly impossible to see anything more than a few feet in front of me.

"Aria!" I yell, hoping she might be able to hear me over the roar of the rain. "Aria, where are you? Aria!"

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I walk through the forest pretty much aimlessly, hoarsely calling Aria's name over and over in hope that she might just hear me. The rain is still pouring down through the trees, soaking me and everything else. Wherever Aria is, I hope she's at least somewhat dry.

"Aria!" I call. "Aria!"

I glance at my watch – it's a muggle watch Harry got me for my birthday, and it lights up – it's been three hours. I've been walking around in the forest in the dark for three hours. I'm cold and wet and probably catching a horrible cold, but I can't just _leave_ her out here. Not like Keira did.

"Aria!"

And then I hear something. I halt instantly, trying to quiet my rapid breathing.

"Aria?"

There it is again: a quiet, almost inaudible whimper. "Aria!" The sound doesn't come again. No.

"Aria! Where are you? It's me," I shout desperately. She has to make noise! How am I going to find her otherwise? "Aria, it's me!" I yell again. "It's Dad."

Standing there breathlessly, straining desperately to hear anything other than the rain and my own breathing, I realize something. Aria's never called me Dad. She doesn't call me anything. What does she think of me as? Does she think of me as 'Dad'? Or am I just her father? Or am I still Mr. Weasley to her? I shudder at the last one. The first time she called me that I wanted to cry.

"Aria?" I question, no longer shouting. My voice is hoarse and scratchy.

I turn my head in all directions trying to hear something – _anything_ that might lead me to her. "Aria?"

Suddenly I hear a new noise. A tiny, soft moan. "Aria! Aria, where are you?" I yell. The groaning noise comes again. I start toward it. "Aria?"

Nothing. No more noise. I keep going in that direction. It's pitch black, and I can't even see my own hand when I wave it in front of my face. I start taking smaller steps.

"Aria?" I ask, stepping lightly and carefully now in case I accidentally run into her. "Aria, where are you?"

It finally occurs to me, after _three_ hours in the dark forest, that I have a wand in my back pocket. I feel like a complete idiot as I pull it out.

"Lumos," I whisper. The pinpoint of light that my wand emits is just enough for me to see my feet and about a meter in front of me. Better than nothing.

"Aria?" I ask again, straining my eyes to see something other than the ground. My foot touches something soft and I jump. I look to my right to see a large huddled mass on the ground. Aria!

I kneel down beside her to see her head lying against a large rock with what looks like a little bit of dried blood on it. I wipe her stringy wet hair out of her face. She's out cold.

"Oh, Merlin," I sigh, feeling for a pulse on her neck. There's one there, and it's fairly strong. Just hit her head a little too hard I guess. I look over her body carefully in case she's hurt too seriously to move her. Her right ankle is twisted in what looks like a very painful position, but it doesn't look broken. Her breathing is shallow, but at least she's breathing.

She's wearing nothing but a pair of completely soaked shorts and a thin and equally wet tank top. She must be freezing. Quickly I slip out of my heavy coat and lay it over her. I lay my hand against her forehead, but she doesn't feel like she has a fever. Yet. If I don't get her out of here, she's going to get sick very quickly. If she's not already sick.

I roll her over onto her back very carefully, my hand cupping her head just in case there are more rocks over there. She groans as I do this, and I pause.

"Aria?"

Her eyelids flutter open, and for just a moment, those beautiful blue eyes of hers stare at me, filled with understanding and gratefulness and … trust. Then she sighs and passes out again, going limp in my arms.

I stand up very slowly with Aria in my arms. It shocks me how light she is, even with her body as a dead weight. She hardly weighs a thing. I hold her carefully, cradling her protectively against the rain. For a moment I wonder which way the house is, but I decide against walking all the way there. I have no idea if I've gone in circles for three hours or not, but if it took me three hours to get here, it might take me even longer to get back. Holding Aria tightly, I apparate to the back door.

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Harry's POV

Keira won't stop pacing. She's been doing that since Ron left over three hours ago, and she still hasn't stopped. And she refuses to go into the kitchen as well, afraid of what she'll see on that clock of hers. I've been through the kitchen numerous times over the last few hours, but I can't bring myself to look at the clock either.

I had Jake and Sean put the little kids to bed at nine, and I sent them to bed around ten, much to their displeasure. I heard them muttering angrily the whole way up the stairs. But it's just easier to talk to Keira if they're not around. Easier to assure her that everything's fine.

"Keira, why don't you have a cup of tea?" I ask from the kitchen. She just glares at me. I take a long drink from my own tea, wishing it was something stronger, but glad that it isn't because tomorrow would be horrible if it was.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," I say for what feels like the millionth time. I started saying it about half an hour after Ron left.

"Shut up, Harry," she sighs, sinking onto the couch. "I can't believe this happened. Why can't Aria and I get along, Harry?" she asks, her voice watery.

"Because she's exactly like her mum?" I question, an unbidden smile making its way across my face. When Keira gives me an inquiring look I laugh. "Hermione loved to argue too," I tell her. "Especially with Ron," I add as an afterthought.

"If they fought all the time, how did they ever fall in love?" she asks, more to herself than to me.

"Beats me," I reply to her mostly rhetorical question. She just sighs.

"He really did love her, didn't he?" she asks. She looks at me. I sigh back.

"Yeah. He really did," I answer sadly. I hate that Hermione is tearing apart Keira and Ron's relationship, and she's not even here anymore. Part of me wonders what would have happened this summer if she hadn't died. The other part of me warns me that I probably don't want to know.

Keira gasps and jumps up suddenly, running to the back door. She slides open the glass door quickly, and Ron steps through, Aria in his arms. I hurry over to them.

"Let me take her," I say, reaching for her. Ron needs to rest. He needs warm, dry clothes and a hot shower. But he backs away from me.

"No," he says hoarsely. He gives me a look that tells me to drop it, and he starts toward the stairs. Keira glances at me before hurrying after him. I follow as well.

"Ron," I say as we reach the second floor, "seriously, mate. You need to get out of those clothes."

"Aria needs me," is his reply. He starts up to the third floor.

"Yes, but she needs you to be healthy," I insist, right on his heels. He turns to glare at me.

"Just stop," he says, turning around again. He takes her to her bedroom and lays her on her bed.

"Keira, I need your help," he says, speaking to her for the first time since he arrived. She nods mutely and follows him into Aria's bedroom. I stand in the doorway.

Ron and Keira work together to get Aria out of her soaked clothes and into thick flannel pajamas that look as though they've never been worn. I step out of the room politely to wait.

As I wait, I hear a sudden scrabbling and hushed whispers coming from Sean's bedroom. I glance toward Aria's room to make sure Ron and Keira aren't killing each other yet before making my way over there. I push the door open and one of the boys groans loudly.

"That was my foot," Jake says as I let the door swing open all the way. Sean jumps up instantly.

"How's Aria?" he asks. I look at the two of them.

"I'm not sure. Your mum and dad are trying to get her into some dry clothes. She's completely soaked. Other than that, I don't know anything yet," I tell them. They nod.

"Do we have to go to bed?" Jake asks. "I'm not even tired."

"Me neither," Sean says, looking like he's ready to drop dead from exhaustion. He turns away to hide a yawn. I shake my head at the two of them.

"Just stay in here," I tell them. "If we need your help, I'll come get you."

I leave the door open and go back to Aria's room. Keira waves her wand over Aria's hair, drying it instantly. She picks up a brush and starts gently brushing out Aria's hair while Ron struggles to get thick socks onto her feet. Hacking coughs make him double over in pain, making his task even harder. I go to the foot of Aria's bed.

"Ron, go to bed. We can take care of Aria," I tell him firmly, taking the socks away from him and guiding him out of the room. He resists feebly.

"Aria needs me," he insists, another coughing spell starting up. He leans on me as the coughs rack his entire body.

"You need sleep. Let Keira and me worry about Aria. You need to get out of these wet clothes. Take a hot shower. Go to bed," I tell him, leading him down the stairs. He follows me somewhat listlessly.

I walk into his bedroom and take out a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I hand them to him and push him into the bathroom. "Take a hot shower and go to bed," I repeat, calling through the door. "Keira and I will take care of Aria."

I hear a faint mumbling of thanks as I leave. Poor Ron. He's in for a rough night.

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Keira's POV

After getting every single knot out of Aria's hair, I take over the task of putting her socks on. I'm grateful to Harry for being here. I don't know how I would have handled this otherwise. And to think, this morning I was mad at Ron for suggesting he come check up on me.

Just as I'm slipping the second sock onto Aria's freezing cold foot, Harry walks back into the room. He looks at me and sighs.

"Oh, Keira," he says, tucking the covers around Aria tightly. She shivers suddenly.

"I'll never hear the end of this," I mutter, sitting carefully on the end of the bed. Ron told me he thought she sprained her ankle, but we haven't done anything about it yet. He wants to wait until he can get a Healer to come look at her. I think bitterly that Aria's mum was one of the best Healers at St. Mungo's. She wouldn't have had any problem with this.

"You might not hear anything from Ron over the next few days," Harry tells me. "I think his voice is going on vacation. And I'm sure he's almost as sick as Aria is from being out in that rain. He'll be in bed for awhile."

"Oh, that makes me feel _so_ much better," I snarl. Harry just smiles.

"We should let her sleep," he says, nodding at Aria's sleeping form. "Come on. I'll make hot chocolate for the boys."

"Aren't they asleep?" I ask, surprised. Harry sent them to bed almost two hours ago.

"Are you kidding me? They're best friend – not to mention Sean's sister – has been out in the rain for how many hours, and I tell them to go to sleep?" I laugh at the absurdity. "Like that would ever happen. They've both been sitting in Sean's room for two hours, waiting for Ron to get home."

"That makes sense," I sigh. "Yes," I add in answer to his offer. "Let's have some hot chocolate."

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**A/N**: Yay for plot development! Please review with any and all questions, comments, and general silliness. (Okay, I'd appreciate if you kept the general silliness to a minimum.) I greatly appreciate _constructive_ criticism. The next chapter will be a lot of Harry and Keira's points of view seeing as Aria and Ron are both currently bedridden (or Ron will be as soon as he finishes that nice hot shower). Okay, thanks for reading! Please review! Toodles! 


	6. Nursing

**Disclaimer**: Once again, not mine.

**A/N**: Uh… not much to say. It's super short, but at least it's an update. I'm currently suffering another bout of writer's block, so bear with me. Happy 4th of July to all of us American people:) Cheers!

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Keira's POV

I poke my head into Aria's bedroom early the next morning. She's still sleeping in basically the same position Harry and I left her in last night. Her breathing is heavy, and her forehead is drenched in sweat. Despite this, she's shivering uncontrollably. I go over to her side and lay my hand against her forehead. She's burning up. Sighing, I wipe her sweaty hair out of her face. Poor girl.

"Mummy?"

I turn around to see Abby standing there curiously, peering into the room inquisitively. I smile at her and gesture for her to come in.

"Is she okay?" Abby asks, her face screwing up in concern as she peeks over the edge of Aria's bedside.

"She's sick," I say quietly. "But she'll be better soon."

"Is Daddy sick too?" Abby asks somewhat accusingly. I smile at her tone.

"Yes, sweetheart, Daddy's sick too," I tell her, picking her up. She frowns.

"I don't want Daddy to be sick," she tells me. Fighting back a laugh, I smile at her.

"I know, sweetie. I don't want Daddy sick either. He'll be better soon too though, I promise," I say. I lay my hand against Aria's cheeks and forehead again before I leave the room.

I carry Abby downstairs and into the kitchen, where I'm surprised to see Harry, cooking breakfast for a very impatient-looking Henry in his high chair. I set Abby down and walk over to Harry.

"You're here early," I say with a yawn. He smiles at me.

"I figured you'd want to sleep in," he says, dishing eggs onto two plates for Henry and Abby. I smile gratefully.

"Thank you," I say, taking the plates for him. "So what's Ginny up to today?" I ask conversationally, handing Abby two forks. She sits at the table and hands Henry his green plastic fork, even dishing up his first mouthful for him. I smile at how helpful she's trying to be.

"I think she's taking the kids and going to the Burrow for the day," Harry says, starting up a few more eggs and a pan of bacon. Suddenly two very sleepy-looking boys appear at the bottom of the staircase. I smile at them as they plop down at the table.

"Do I smell bacon?" Jake asks sleepily. His hair is sticking up in odd tufts all over his head, and his eyes are barely open.

"Sure do," Harry says, flipping the bacon over in the pan. Sean yawns noisily.

"Smells good," he says.

"Is it still raining, Mummy?" Abby asks suddenly. I glance out the window at the light blue sky.

"No, sweetheart. It looks like it's going to be a very nice day," I tell her. She smiles.

"Can we go swimming?"

"You'll have to ask Jake and Sean. They're taking care of you and Henry today," I say, taking four more plates down from the cupboard.

"What?" the boys say in unison. They're pretty awake now. I sigh.

"You two need to watch Henry and Abby today. Harry and I will be busy taking care of Aria and your dad," I inform them, handing them each a plate of bacon and eggs. They take it, looking resentful.

"Why can't you take care of Aria and Dad, and Harry can watch the little kids?" Sean grumbles.

"You are being very ungrateful," I tell him, sitting down across from him with my breakfast. He just mutters something inaudible and shoves a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

"Sean, it's only for a few days. Just until we can get your dad back up on his feet, okay? Besides, Abby and Henry love it when you play with them. They don't see enough of their big brother," Harry says sternly. Sean rolls his eyes.

"Fine, I'll watch them," he grumbles. I smile at him gratefully.

"Good. I'm going to see if I can get Ron to eat something," Harry says, dishing up a plate of eggs. "Keira, you should make some soup or something for Aria. She needs food," he adds, pausing at the bottom of the stairs. I nod and go over to the stove to start some chicken noodle soup.

Behind me I hear chairs scraping the floor. I turn to see Jake and Sean standing up, gathering the plates and glasses and taking them to the sink. I smile at them.

"Thank you, boys," I say, waving my wand so the dishes will start washing. They just nod, and each takes one of the little kids before disappearing upstairs. The kitchen seems so quiet without anyone in it. I sigh and take the soup off the stove, pouring some in a bowl for Aria. I hope she's awake…

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Harry's POV

Ron glares at me as I walk in. He opens his mouth to say something – probably that he's really _not _sick and really _doesn't _need to stay in bed and that Aria really needs him today – but all that comes out is a long, hacking cough that makes him double over on the bed, clutching his chest with a grimace on his face.

"You can just forget whatever you were about to say," I tell him, handing him his plate and a fork. He sighs and leans back against his pillows.

"Thanks," he mutters, taking a bite of the eggs.

"No problem, mate," I say with a grin. Ron gives me a look, but I ignore it. I just chuckle at him.

"How's Aria?" he asks hoarsely between bites. I shrug.

"Dunno. Keira's been taking care of her." He chokes on his eggs.

"Wh-what?" he sputters, eggs spilling out of his mouth in a very unappetizing way.

"Keira is taking care of Aria," I say slowly so he'll get it. He stares at me in shock.

"Wh-why?" he stutters.

"Because she feels responsible for what happened to her, and now she wants to help make it better," I say sternly. Ron just stares.

"I've got to get out of this bed," he mutters, starting to swing his legs over the side of the bed. I shove him back into his pillows.

"You are _not_ getting out of that bed until you are well," I tell him, glaring at him.

"I feel fine!" he insists. He starts to get up again, only to be consumed by another coughing fit. I give him a look and he lies back down reluctantly. Footsteps outside the room cause us both to look toward the door.

"Hey," Keira says quietly, sticking her head in as she passes by. She smiles at Ron, who just looks at her coolly. She sighs and comes into the room.

"Ron, please," she begs, sitting down on the bed next to him. He eyes the soup in her hand curiously. "It's for Aria," she says dismissively.

"How is she?" he asks at last, his voice barely more than a rough whisper. He clears his throat loudly.

"She's still asleep. And she has a fever. I was just going up to see if she was awake yet and if she'd eat some soup," she says with a sigh.

Ron nods agreeably. "Good, good," he murmurs, sighing and leaning further into his pillows. He lets his eyelids droop. "So tired," he mutters softly. Keira smiles and gets up quietly, leaving the room just as quickly as she'd come.

I get up as well, taking Ron's nearly empty plate with me. Looks like I get to help Keira with Aria now. First though, I need to get these dirty dishes off to the sink. And there are probably some clean ones sitting, waiting to be put away by now. With a sigh, I head off to work. So much for summer vacation.

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Keira's POV

Aria is looking slightly less asleep by the time I get to her room, but she's not awake. She's tossing and turning in her bed, an unhappy grimace playing over her soft features. Every few seconds she lets out a very disconcerting sound, somewhere between a whimper and a groan.

"Aria," I whisper, laying my hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently. She tears away from my grip, crying out loudly.

"Aria, wake up," I say a bit more loudly. "You're having a bad dream. Please wake up." I shake her again. She sits bolt upright very suddenly, gasping for breath, her eyes wide open. I back away quickly.

She looks at me, but it doesn't seem like she registers who I am. She sinks back into her bed and lies there staring at me, sweat still beading her brow heavily.

"Aria?" I ask, moving to her bedside. She doesn't react. Her eyes flick over to me, watching me, but not recognizing me. "I brought you some soup," I tell her gently, handing her the bowl. She doesn't move.

"You need to eat, sweetheart," I tell her. She blinks and screws up her face as she focuses on mine. "Please eat," I beg quietly, still holding out the soup. Very slowly she reaches out with shaking hands. She can barely grasp the bowl. I guide the bowl onto her lap. Once its resting there somewhat safely, I conjure a tray for her to eat on, and set the bowl on top of it. Aria struggles to sit up.

I help her get back into an upright position and rearrange the pillows behind her. She gives me a look that clearly tells me she didn't need help and reaches out to take the spoon. Her hand is shaking so violently that hardly any of the soup on the spoon actually makes it to her mouth, but I don't offer my help. She doesn't seem to want it, if the tiny looks she's giving me are any indication.

I smile at her and start moving about the room, cleaning things up while she eats. I feel her eyes watching me, but I ignore it. I tidy up her bookshelf, which has her school books lying haphazardly on the wooden shelves. I pick up some dirty clothes I somehow missed last night and throw them into the hamper.

From behind me I hear a sigh, and I look back. Aria is lying back against the pillows, looking exhausted, her soup only half gone.

"Are you done?" I ask softly. She opens her eyes just far enough to actually see me, and nods very slowly. "I'll just get this out of your way then," I tell her, picking up the tray. She nods again, sinking further into the pillows.

"Thank you," I hear very softly, almost inaudibly, as I leave. I smile as I walk down the stairs.

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Harry's POV

Keira walks into the living room and sits down on the couch next to me with a sigh. I smile at her, and she smiles back somewhat wearily.

"This is going to be harder than I thought," she says.

"Is it really that bad taking care of Aria?" I ask, surprised. The girl was half dead last night, how can she be such a problem?

"No. But I just wish Ron was up and around to help out. Aria's still mad at me. I mean, she can barely speak, and she's hardly conscious, but the _looks_ that girl can convey gets the message across loud and clear: 'Keira, I hate you'," she mutters bitterly.

"Oh, Keira," I sigh. "She doesn't _hate_ you," I insist. Keira just gives me a look. "She doesn't," I insist.

"Oh, really," she says, raising her eyebrows at me in disbelief.

"Really," I tell her. "She's just … it's hard. What she's going through. I mean, I know you've heard it all before, but, it's hard to lose a parent. And Aria and her mum were so close… I just think you're trying too hard," I tell her.

She sighs. "Then what am I supposed to do?" she asks. "Just ignore the girl? I can't do that, Harry."

"No, of course not. Just … let her know that if she ever needs you, you're there, but without invading her space. Just let her be herself, and before you know it, she'll open up to you. You just have to be her friend," I say.

Keira looks at me and sighs. "This is getting us nowhere. How about if we work together and try to get those _ugly_ sheets off of Aria's bed instead? They're driving me crazy," she says with a smile. I laugh and stand up.

"Sounds good. Let me run home real quick. Ginny just bought some new bedding for one of the guest rooms, but it's too small for the bed, so she was going to return it. I'm sure she hasn't taken it back yet. We can use it for Aria's room," I say. Keira bites her lip uncertainly. She and Ron have always had a big problem with accepting any kind of gifts from Ginny and me.

"It's no big deal," I assure her. "It's just plain bedding. Nothing special," I insist. She sighs.

"Fine. Go get it. Hurry back. I'll be in Aria's room," she says, getting up and heading toward the stairs. I nod at her back and apparate.

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**A/N**: Sorry it's so terribly short! I'm suffering from a horrible case of writer's block at the moment, so this is all. Sorry! 


	7. Daddy Dearest

**Disclaimer**: Still not owning. Please don't sue me!

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**A/N**: SO sorry for the delay, once again. I just want to say that even though this story is not DH-compliant, I'm going to keep going with this as long as I can. I'm trying my hardest to get over this awful writer's block crap. Anyway, I hope I can get at least a couple more chapters done before school stops and I'm swamped with homework once more. I've also learned that I've been spelling Apparition wrong… 

Also, this chapter, you get a rare insight to Aria's point of view at the moment. It's hard to understand being as she's rather delirious at the moment, but I hope you appreciate it. And to all of you who are still waiting for Jake and Sean to give their points of view, please be patient! They're not essential to the plot at the moment, so they're not my priority. Okay, on with the story!

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**Chapter Seven: Daddy Dearest**

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Keira's POV

It's been almost a week, and Aria hasn't gotten any better. Ron's cough has almost gone, and he's started demanding to see Aria every time I walk into the room. I've been avoiding him all morning in hopes that he'd forget that I was the one taking care of Aria and therefore the one with the authority to allow him to see her, but every time I come up the stairs he starts yelling for me.

"Keira! I want to see my daughter!" he screams after me now as I walk up the stairs on my way to the third floor. I just roll my eyes and keep going, ignoring his persistent shouting.

The door to Aria's room is slightly ajar, and there's a voice coming from inside. Somehow doubting that Aria has suddenly and miraculously healed, I'd give it two guesses as to who has ignored my requests that the family stays away from her until she's well again.

I walks inside to see both Sean and Jake sitting on Aria's bed, talking to her and each other in soft voices. They look up as I come in, guilty looks spreading over their faces instantly. Jake jumps up and Sean half rises from the mattress.

"You can stay," I tell them. "No harm done. I don't think she's contagious anyway." Jake watches me warily as he slowly sits back down, and Sean readjusts himself on the bed.

"Is she getting better?" Sean asks, focusing his gaze on Aria's sleeping face. Right now she's sleeping peacefully, and whatever nightmares she was having at the beginning of the week seem to have ended.

"I sure hope so," I sigh, pressing my hand against her forehead. It's still burning hot.

"Shouldn't we call a Healer?" Jake asks, looking at me slightly accusingly. What? Does he think I don't _want_ Aria to get better?

"I was hoping we wouldn't have to," I tell him. Aria mumbles something in her sleep and turns onto her side with a soft sigh. We all watch her as she struggles to get comfortable, and when she finally stops moving again, the boys look back at me.

"Well?" Sean asks impatiently.

"I suppose we're going to have to, aren't we?" I sigh. "I'll go write a letter."

I head back downstairs, hoping Ron won't hear my footsteps. But of course, as always, I forget the squeaky stair at the bottom of the staircase.

"I sure hope you have Aria with you!" he yells as I start toward the next staircase. "If you don't let me see her, I'm getting out of this bed right now!" he threatens. I sigh and pause at the top of the staircase.

"Keira?" he calls out uncertainly, the hostility gone from his voice. "Keira are you still there?" One of his rare coughing spells interrupts whatever else he was about to say. Against my better judgment, I head back to the bedroom where Ron is lying propped up against the pillows in bed.

"Well?" he croaks as the coughing fades away.

"I'm going to have a Healer come look at her. She's not getting better."

"Let me see her," he says automatically. I look at him. The poor man has been lying in bed for the last week, worried out of his mind for his daughter, not knowing how she's doing. I sigh in defeat and he grins, swinging his feet over the bed and throwing off the covers.

"How are you going to get a Healer to come see her?" he asks as he starts dressing.

"Well, I suppose just write to them? I mean, none of the kids have ever been this sick before… We've never had to call out a Healer before…" I say uncertainly.

Ron pauses in his dressing long enough to give me a look. "If she's that sick, can it really wait until they get the letter, put it through processing, and then decide if she's important enough? Why don't you go see what's-her-name, one of Hermione's old Healer friends … um … Emily … Emmeline … Evalyn! Evalyn Jorgansin."

"_Go_?" I ask, confused. "You want me to _go_ to St. Mungo's and ask some woman I've never met to come look at the daughter of her dead best friend and former coworker?"

"When you put it that way … yes," Ron says matter-of-factly, slipping a Muggle sweatshirt over his head.

"Fine," I sigh. "I guess I'm going to St. Mungo's." Ron smiles and starts out the door.

"But I want you back in bed in half an hour! I don't want you to over work yourself before you can get completely well again!" I call after him as he bounds upstairs. Shaking my head, I spin around and Apparate to St. Mungo's.

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Ron's POV

I go upstairs to Aria's bedroom. Jake and Sean are sitting at the foot of her bed quietly, casting worried looks at each other. When they notice me standing in the doorway, they both jump up instantly.

"Dad! You're up!" Sean says loudly. Aria groans in her sleep with a grimace on her face, and Sean has the decency to look ashamed of himself.

"Where's Keira?" Jake asks curiously, looking around me as if Keira would be hiding behind me or something.

"She's gone to fetch a Healer to take a look at Aria," I tell him. I walk to her side and lay a hand against her forehead. She's burning up. She whimpers slightly and turns over, burying her head in her pillow. She looks terrible.

"Has she been like this all week?" I ask the boys worriedly. They exchange looks.

"Actually, he looked better at the beginning of the week," Sean says nervously.

"Oh, Aria," I murmur, feeling her burning cheeks and forehead. "Why did I let this happen? I'm so sorry."

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Evalyn's POV

It's been a month and a half since Hermione died, and it still hasn't sunk in that I'm never going to see her walking through those ward doors with a smile – or, depending on if Carl had gotten to her already that day, a frown – on her face in the morning. They offered me her position as the Head of our ward, and I accepted only because I knew that if I didn't, Carl Hendersoughn was next in line, and I couldn't stand the thought of him sitting all haughty in Hermione's old office.

I'm sitting at Hermione's – I mean, _my_ – desk, trying to get some early afternoon paperwork done, when there's a knock on the office door. I look up, my quill suspended above my ink jar. Who could possibly want to interrupt me now? Fully appreciating just how hard Hermione had to work to keep this place running, I set my quill down with an irritated sigh.

"Come in!"

One of our fresh-out-of-Hogwarts Healers-in-training opens the door slowly, looking terrified at the thought of being sent to me, the newly-appointed Head-of-Ward.

"Yes, Melanie?" I ask. The poor girl jumps at being addressed by her first name, or at the thought that I know her name at all.

"Um, Healer Jorgansin? There's a woman here to see you. She says it's extremely important that you see her right away," Melanie says nervously. I nod and wave her away.

"Very well. Send her in." Feeling extremely annoyed that this lady finds herself so important that she needs to see _me_ instead of a normal Healer, I put my paperwork aside and plaster a fake smile on my face. I'm starting to wonder more and more how Hermione did this every day.

A few minutes later there's another knock on my door, this one almost as confident as Melanie's knock.

"Come in," I sigh.

The door opens, and a woman with long, dark red hair comes in, looking nervous and determined at the same time. I send her a smile and gesture toward a chair for her to sit. She does so tentatively.

This woman is so annoyingly familiar that I can't remember for the life of me who she is. I just _know_ I've seen her _somewhere_ before, but I don't know _where_.

"H-have we met?" I ask her uncertainly, my fake smile faltering. She gazes at me steadily.

"Hermione's memorial service," she answers softly. Realization dawns on me. Of course! _She's_ Ron's wife! For a moment I feel an unnaturally strong surge of hatred toward this woman who took away my best friend's only true love, but I realize how stupid I'm being. First of all, Hermione's gone, so it's not like she can win him back anyway. Second of all, it's wrong on so many levels for me to dislike a woman I've never truly talked to.

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Weasley?" I ask.

"Please, call me Keira," she answers. "And … I need to ask a favor."

"Okay," I say slowly. "Ask away."

"It's about Aria," she says. My annoyance and hostility and anything else negative I've been feeling toward this woman thus far vanishes instantly.

"Aria? Is she okay? She's not hurt is she? Is she sick?" I ask.

Keira smiles slightly at me. "She's not hurt. But she is sick. It's a long story, but she was out in the rain at the beginning of the week and she got sick, and she isn't getting better. She has a fever and she's hardly eating, and she can barely wake up."

"She's sick?" I ask again, not having caught much else.

"Yes. And I wanted to have a Healer come look at her, but then Ron remembered _you_, and suggested I come see you," she says.

Ron remembered me? From that one time we ever saw each other? Unless Hermione ever mentioned me in the few times they talked before… I swallow. No, none of that now. Aria is sick.

"Of course I'll come see Aria," I say. "I can leave right now. Let's go."

Keira looks surprised at my willingness, but stands up. She looks around the office as I exchange my Healer's robes for normal ones, and her gaze falls on a picture of Hermione and Aria last summer sitting in my mum's flower garden together. I haven't had the heart to put it away with the rest of Hermione's things.

"They were so close," she murmurs softly, her eyes trained on the photo with sadness in her face.

"Yeah, they were," I reply. Keira looks up at me and sighs. "Well, I suppose we should get going," I add, looking around the office quickly. I grab my purse and gesture for her to lead the way.

"Smith!" I bark at the nearest trainee as we hurry through the ward. The kid jumps and nearly drops the tray he's holding.

"Y-yes, Healer Jorgansin?" he stammers. I roll my eyes.

"I have to leave on a call. Tell Healer Hendersoughn for me," I tell him. He nods and hurries off. These trainees are so annoying! They're all so _willing_ and _obedient_.

Keira leads the way to the lobby, where we Apparate out of the hospital.

We appear on the doorstep of a tall cream-colored house, and Keira opens the door quickly to let me in. I follow her through the little kitchen towards a staircase. I catch sight of a boy with brown hair lying on a loveseat under the window in the living room, his nose stuck in a book. He looks up at the sound of our footsteps.

"Are you a Healer?" he asks rather skeptically. I smile at his doubtfulness.

"Yes, I am," I tell him, pausing at the foot of the staircase.

"You're here to help Aria?" he demands. I bite back a laugh.

"Yes."

"Good," he mutters, going back to his book. I cast a slightly bewildered look at Keira, who just rolls her eyes and smiles.

"That's Jake," she says quietly as we start up the stairs. "I have a sneaking suspicion he has a bit of a crush on Aria." I smile at that.

I expect Keira to lead me to one of the doors leading off the large open area the staircase leads out to, but we keep going to the next set of steps. Finally she leads me to a room where the door is half-open, and voices are coming from inside.

She pushes open the door gently, and the scene that greets me is almost heart-breaking. Aria, lying on her side in bed, her eyes closed, her forehead beaded with sweat. I take a deep breath. Sitting in an armchair at her side is none other than Ron Weasley, and at the foot of the bed is a boy with red hair I can only assume is his son. They both look up as I enter, and Ron stands immediately.

"You must be Evalyn," he says, and by the hoarseness of his voice, I can tell he's just getting over some sort of cold himself. He holds out his hand for me to shake, and I take it somewhat reluctantly. I still haven't completely forgiven him for breaking Hermione's heart.

"Did-did Hermione ever mention me to you?" I ask curiously, still not able to get my head around the fact that he seems to remember me from the one time we ever saw each other.

"Yeah, once or twice," Ron answers casually, but the fact that he won't look me in the eye tells me that my question bothers him. I try to ignore this.

I shift my attention to the fevered eleven-year-old lying in bed, and I feel myself frown.

"How did you say this happened?" I ask Keira, who is hovering near the foot of the bed nervously. She glances anxiously at Ron before opening her mouth to answer.

"She was out-out in the rain earlier this week," she answers. I can tell that's not entirely true, but I let it go.

I lay my hand against Aria's flushed face to find it's red-hot. She murmurs in her sleep and rolls over, letting out a slight whimper as she does so. I feel a certain sense of hopelessness as I look at her. This is just a case of flu or a really bad cold. It's not a magical illness. There's nothing I can do for her. I look up at Ron, not able to hide this feeling fast enough. His expression falls and he sinks into the armchair again.

"You can't do anything?" he asks. I shake my head.

"I'm sorry. It's not a magical illness."

He sighs. "That's what I was afraid of. How much…?" he trails off.

"You don't owe me anything," I say quickly. "It was payment enough just to let me see her. I've missed her," I tell him with a small smile.

"You and Hermione … you were good friends?" he asks. I nod sadly.

"She was my best friend," I answer. "We did everything together."

"That makes two of us," he sighs. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Keira and the boy slip out of the room.

I feel my resentment for Ron slowly dissolving. Looking at him sitting there, helpless, watching his daughter fighting this illness, I suddenly feel an overwhelming pity for this man.

"Did you love her?" I ask, unable to help myself. He looks up at me, and then glances quickly toward where Keira had been standing.

"What?"

"Hermione. Did you love her?" I ask again. He swallows and looks down.

"Yes. I loved her so much," he whispers. He looks up at me again, and I'm shocked to see tears in his eyes. "I still do," he says quietly, turning to look at Aria again. "And every damn day I see her face in that girl. If I didn't love her so much, I'd hate her for it." His voice shakes as he speaks and I sit down on the edge of the bed carefully to listen.

"Me too," I whisper, looking at Aria as well. She's almost the spitting image of her mum, and it breaks my heart. "But not in the same way," I add with a small smile. To my relief, Ron laughs.

"I would hope not."

"Can I talk to you about something?" I say uncertainly. I know this isn't the right time to bring it up, but if I don't do it now, I never will.

"Yeah," he answers.

"It's about the house," I start.

"What house?" he questions somewhat sharply.

"Hermione's house." Ron's face hardens.

"What about it?" he asks harshly.

"Well, I've been taking care of it. You know, feeding the cat, getting the mail. I've been paying the bills using Hermione's bank account, which is actually Aria's now, seeing as she left everything to her…"

"Except her," Ron interrupts softly, a joking smile barely gracing his expression. Huh? He must notice my puzzled look because he smiles even more.

"Hermione left everything to Aria except Aria," he says, and I get it this time. I smile.

"It would be pretty hard to leave Aria to herself," I say with a slight laugh. I let the laugh slide away as Ron continues to chuckle.

Actually, I'd always assumed that if anything ever happened to Hermione, Aria would come live with _me_. Hermione asked me to be her godmother when she was born, and she'd told me that if anything ever happened, there was no one she'd trust more than me with her daughter. I wonder how long it was after that first meeting with Ron that she changed her mind. I don't voice these thoughts to Ron.

"Anyway," I continue, and Ron stops laughing instantly. "Like I said. I've been taking care of the house. But eventually, Aria is going to have to go back there and decide what she wants and what she's willing to sell."

"I suppose so," Ron answers softly, his gaze still trained on his daughter. I look at her too. She looks so weak and vulnerable lying there. I reach out and wipe her stringy hair out of her face. She sighs and rolls onto her back, one of her arms stretching above her head.

"I just want her to get better," Ron whispers, looking miserable. "I miss seeing her smile."

"I know. I wish there was more I could do to help," I tell him, really meaning it.

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Aria's POV

I feel hot. Other times I'm freezing. My head is pounding, and it hurts constantly. Every now and then I hear voices or feel people sitting near me, but I can't figure out who it is. Once or twice, maybe more times a day, someone comes and feeds me, but I don't know who. I'm not even really sure where I am.

I can't tell if I'm awake or dreaming. Sometimes I think I see people, but then I realize no one's there. Other times I imagine getting up and getting myself a glass of water, but then I realize I'm still lying in bed and my mouth and throat are horribly, achingly dry.

Sometimes I'm in pain. It hurts to move, to think, to _breathe_. And then other times I'm in blissful comfort with the softest feeling against my cheeks and forehead. Somewhere in my half-conscious state, I see things. Not people. Strange creatures and colors all whirled together in a confusing collage of things that terrify me. And then in an instant all of the scary things are gone and I feel that coolness against my face again.

Right now, I can hear people. At least, I hope that's what I'm hearing. I hope they're real people. I lie there, listening to the people talk. It sounds like there's a whole stadium of people around me, shouting now. Their faces come swimming into view, colorful and bold. They're smiling, talking, laughing. But then their faces change. They twist into horrible, awful _things_. One of them reaches out to me, and I try to get away. Another one is grabbing me, pinning me down, suffocating me.

I cry out. Someone, anyone, help me! I'm drowning, sinking, _dying_.

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Sean's POV

In the middle of the night, I awake to hear _horrible_ noises of pain coming from Aria's bedroom. I run in there to see her tossing and turning violently in bed, crying and shrieking in fear. I run over to her bed and grab her roughly.

"Aria! Aria, wake up! You're having a bad dream! Aria, please wake up!" I shake her slightly, and she cries out, twisting away from me.

"Aria, come on! Wake up!" I shake her again, and she lets out a noise of pain.

"Aria! You're having a nightmare, please wake up!" She turns away from me again, curling into a ball. I sigh. I have to wake up Dad now.

Aria's cries follow me all the way downstairs. I bang open Mum and Dad's bedroom door, and Dad jerks awake instantly. He looks at me with a disorientated look on his face, and I hurry to his side.

"It's Aria," I say, grabbing him and attempting to pull him out of bed.

"She's having a nightmare and she won't wake up."

Dad jumps up and follows me upstairs.

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Aria's POV

The things are still trying to get me. They're poking me, pinching me, pulling at me, torturing me. I cry as they laugh and continue the tormenting. There's no one to help me. No one.

Where are the people who are supposed to love me? Why are they letting these monsters torture me? Where's my mum?

"Mum!" I cry out, in hopes that she'll hear me. She'd never let this happen to me. She wouldn't. She'll come put a stop to it. "Mum!"

I hear footsteps now. It must be Mum. "Mum!" But no. Mum can't save me. She's … she's dead. "Mum?" The footsteps are thundering loud now. Probably more torturing creatures. Then it comes to me. My father! My dad!

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Ron's POV

As I follow Sean upstairs, screams reach my ears, and I pick up the pace. Suddenly the words she's screaming stop me in my tracks.

"Mum!" I pause, unsure of what to do. Sean stops as well and gives me a questioning look. Again I hear it. "Mum!" I swallow hard. What's going on? Once again, less frantic this time, but still horribly helpless. "Mum?"

And then whimpering, crying. I start moving, pushing around Sean. He follows me. And then, a word I never thought I'd hear coming from my eleven-year-old daughter's bedroom in a scream.

"DAD!"

I start running.

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Aria's POV

The creatures are closing in even more. They're going to kill me. Where's my dad? Why isn't he helping me?

"DAD!" I scream at the top of my lungs, squeezing my eyes shut as my tormenters draw nearer still. I curl up against myself, trying to protect myself from them. Why isn't he coming to save me from these horrible creatures?

"Dad!"

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Ron's POV

I skid into Aria's room to see her curled up at the very edge of her bed, whimpering and sobbing and shrieking as if someone or some_thing_ was out to get her.

"Aria," I say, going around the other side of the bed and kneeling down beside her. I put my hand on her face and she shrinks away, crying out as if I'd struck her.

"Aria, wake up."

"Dad!"

"Aria, it's me. It's Dad. Please wake up."

She whimpers and buries her head in her arms.

"Dad," she says again, as if her resolve that I'm going to save her is fading. I gently take hold of her arms and she flinches.

"Aria."

"Dad!" she says, loudly this time, letting out a shriek and tearing away from me with a sob.

"Aria, it's Dad. Please, just wake up! I sit down beside her on the bed and lay my hand on her shoulder. She whimpers.

"Aria, you're having a bad dream," I tell her again, taking hold of her and wrapping my arms around her. She tries to break away, but being sick and lying in bed for the last week has weakened her.

"Dad," she cries again, not shouting anymore. I hug her to me.

"This _is_ Dad, Aria," I whisper fiercely. "Now, wake up."

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Aria's POV

Someone is holding me. Whispering to me. Protecting me. I stop fighting. The creatures are dissolving into nothingness. And then all there is is nothingness. Everything is dark.

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Ron's POV

Aria slumps against me, still crying, but not struggling, not screaming. Her hand finds my arm and she tightens her grip on me as if afraid I'll drop her.

"Dad," she whispers, leaning on me. I smile slightly and hug her again.

"I love you, Aria," I murmur, kissing the top of her head. "I'm always here to protect you."

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**A/N**: Awwwww!!!! How sweet! There, I hope you enjoyed this. I apologize _again_ for the long delay. I hope the extra length is enough to make up for it. Actually, it's almost _too_ long, but I really wanted to get this chapter done. I'll try to update soon. Please review! It helps me think. ;) 

Anyway, I hope I'm over the worst of my writer's block. This chapter actually screwed up the plot slightly, but I had to write it. It's been collecting dust in the back of my head for awhile now, and it was too good to pass up.

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**One last note**: I might have a new story coming out soon. I've already written the first chapter and a half, but I'm going to try to get the second chapter completely done before I post it. I know my philosophy is to only have one WIP at a time, but this idea has been _nagging _and _nagging_ at me since I thought it up … yesterday. Ha. But, I got the idea while I was supposed to be writing my summer homework essay. So look for it! I'll probably post it in the next day or two. Ok! Enough rambling! Please review! Thanks! 


	8. Recollections and Healing

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**: Do none of you know what disclaimer means by now? Me no owney!

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**A/N**: As I was writing this, I was watching '8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter' and Paul _died_! It was _so sad!_ I cried! But all that aside, I practically wrote this chapter in _one_ day! _gasp_ I know! It's shocking.

Right, like I said on my profile, this chapter is way shorter than any of the others because it's simply a filler chapter. Next chapter we'll deal with more plot developmenty stuff. Ok, on with the story! Happy reading!

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**Chapter Eight: Recollections and Healing**

Ron's POV

I open my eyes to find myself in Aria's bedroom, sitting on Aria's bed, with Aria in my arms. She's sleeping peacefully for once, her head on my chest, an almost-smile on her face. I smile at her and hug her softly. I shift around a bit and manage to get a hand free to feel her forehead. It's no longer burning. Somewhere in the night, her fever must have broken.

Gently, I ease myself out from under her and tuck the covers in around her. For the first time, I notice the new bedding. When did this happen? The comforter is just plain white with a sky blue border, and the pillowcases match. The sheets are soft and the same color blue as the borders. Where did this come from?

Deciding I can just ask Keira about it later, I leave the room.

Downstairs in the kitchen, I find Keira sitting across the table from Eva. They both look up and smile at me as I come down the steps, and Keira stands to get me a plate. I smile back thankfully as I sit down beside Eva.

"I didn't know you were coming over today," I comment. She just smiles.

"I thought I'd stop by and see how Aria is," she says, taking a sip of her tea.

"Better, actually. Her fever broke last night. She was sleeping pretty easily when I left her."

"That's good," Eva comments somewhat absent-mindedly.

"Are … are you alright?" I ask her, noticing her blank stare and her somewhat forlorn expression.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Keira slip out of the room and up the stairs quietly. For about half a second I wonder why she trusts me alone with this woman she hardly knows, but then I shake the thought away. Keira trusts me. That's enough.

Eva sighs and sets her cup down on the table. She looks at me.

"No," she says. "I'm not alright. I spent all day yesterday thinking that if Hermione were still alive, Aria wouldn't be sick. I wouldn't be wondering if I'm going to make it at my job. I wouldn't be _here_ talking to the man my best friend was in love with." After the last statement, she closes her eyes in one of those 'I-can't-believe-I-just-said-that' expressions.

I cock my head at her, not sure what to say.

"I'm sorry. Forget my mumbling. I should be happy, right? Aria's getting better." She forces a smile onto her face. I can't help thinking I've never seen a worse attempt at a false look of happiness.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" I ask her.

"Sure," she sighs.

"When I take Aria to the house … Hermione's house …will you come with us?"

Eva looks surprised and touched at my offer. "Of course," she says with a smile.

"Thanks. I don't know if I could do it by myself."

"It's hard," she agrees. "It's just … so hard," she repeats, and this time I know she's not talking about the house. "I mean, she was my _best friend_. I still remember the first day se ever came to St. Mungo's. She was what, nineteen? Twenty? And she had the tiniest baby girl in her arms. I was a fresh-out-of-Hogwarts trainee, working on the first floor, and I walked into the waiting room, and she was sitting there. Just sitting there. So patient."

She pauses to take a deep breath, and I wait for her to pull herself together.

"I remember watching the Head of my ward go over there and ask her if he could help her, and she started talking to him. I could tell right away he liked her personality – I mean, who didn't? The next day she walked up to me and asked me where she could find some Healer's robes. Since she'd never attended her seventh year of Hogwarts, she had to work twice as hard as everyone there, but she did it. I never figured out how she took care of that little girl and fit work in at the same time.

"It took her all of five minutes to become my best friend. That first day, she came to me probably twenty times to ask me how to do things, but she learned fast. She never asked me the same question twice. The next week she brought that baby over to my house, and if those big blue eyes didn't steal my heart away the second I saw her." Eva breaks off and smiles, her eyes shining with remembrance.

She looks at me, and her smile fades. "I miss her so much sometimes. I remember when my daughter was born – she's almost a year old now. Hermione was the first one outside the family to ever hold her… I miss her so much," she says again, looking down at the table.

"Me too," I whisper. "I wish I'd had contact with her the last twelve years. I missed out on all of Aria's childhood."

"Oh, there's some funny stories there," Eva says with a smile. "Did you ever hear about Aria's first swearword?"

"Ass?" I ask, smiling at the memory of that story. Eva nods and grins.

"Oh, it was so funny. Of course, the window was open, which made it slightly less funny, but it was still hilarious. Hermione wouldn't speak to me for days. She was so mad. Now of course, it's hilarious. Every time she told that story she'd laugh and laugh. But at the time…" she shakes her head, still grinning.

"It sounds like Aria had a very colorful childhood," I say, unable to help myself. Eva laughs.

"Definitely. Oh. There was this one time, we took her to a Muggle zoo…" as Eva launches into a story concerning Aria's first time seeing a monkey, I sit back and smile. Of the few times I'd talked to Hermione in the last year, we'd only ever once talked about Aria as a young child, and that was maybe five minutes.

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Aria's POV

It's dark. But not unpleasantly so. I'm not cold, and I'm not burning hot. The pounding in my head has finally gone away. I can feel my bedding rubbing against my face, and it feels wonderfully smooth and cool. I smell something … fresh and … springy almost. It smells like rain. I can hear someone moving around me quietly, then not at all.

Straining my ears for the sound of footsteps, the idea comes into my head that my darkness isn't really that dark. And then I can open my eyes.

I look around. The room is familiar. It's my room. Of course. And suddenly everything comes rushing back to me: Mum, Dad, Keira, the storm, the rain, the cold, _the pain_. I close my eyes. The darkness is refreshing.

"Aria?" My eyes snap open. Sean. I smile at him.

"You're awake."

I open my mouth to say something really witty like 'Yeah' but nothing comes out of my mouth. I guess not using it for awhile can do that to you.

I clear my throat and try to sit up, and Sean is at my side instantly. He helps me into a sitting position and I give him a weird look as he arranges the pillows behind me. That's when I notice the new bedding.

"Where's Dad?"

Wait, did I just say that? It's Sean's turn to give _me _a weird look. His mouth half open, he gestures uselessly out the door and then looks back at me.

"I-I'll just go get him," he stutters.

Sitting there by myself, I wonder how that came out of my mouth. Since when do I call my father 'Dad'? The last time I remember even referring to him was when I screamed at Keira that she could tell him whatever it was I'd yelled at her before running out into the rain.

"Hey, look who's awake!" My fa– _Dad_ says, sticking his head in the door and grinning. I smile back.

"Hi."

"Are you hungry?" he asks knowingly, raising his eyebrows.

"Starved."

"Are you up for coming downstairs?"

I think about it. "I don't know," I answer honestly.

"Wanna try?" he asks, holding his hand out to me. I smile and take it.

He helps me out of bed and I stand up uncertainly, clutching his arm tightly. Easy enough.

We walk down the stairs slowly, my dad helping me whenever I trip, but other than that not really supporting me. When I walk into the kitchen, I'm more than shocked to see Eva sitting there, sipping tea.

"Eva!" I exclaim, running to her. She stands up and wraps her arms around me.

"Oh, it is _so_ good to hear your voice," she murmurs, kissing the top of my head. "I've _missed_ you."

"I missed you too," I tell her, hugging her back. "How's Madison?" I ask as she pulls back and holds my face between her hands, scrutinizing me.

"Oh, she's walking the house down. Never stops that, girl," she says, and I smile.

"You should eat something," my dad says, handing me a plate of food. I sit down at the table and start to eat slowly. After the first few bites, I realize just how hungry I really am.

"Whoa! Slow down there! Are you Sean in an Aria costume, or what?" Dad jokes, passing me a glass of water. I finish it off in three large gulps. Dad and Eva watch me with amused expressions as I wolf down eggs and bacon and sausage and whatever else was on my plate when I started.

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Eva's POV

Seeing Aria awake and smiling and eating is almost as good as actually having Hermione back. She's chattering away to Ron, taking about who knows what, but at least she's talking. I've missed her so much.

I sit there watching her, and I can't help but see how all of the characteristics that made her like Hermione are now fused with the things that make her Ron's daughter. I ponder over this for a few minutes. It's not just her looks. Of course, looking at her, it's hard to decide who she looks like more. Right now, smiling and laughing with her father, I'd say Ron. But lying upstairs sleeping, sick and in pain? She looked so much like Hermione then that I wanted to cry.

I love Aria like my own daughter – I have since the very first time I ever saw her, just over twelve years ago. And even though after hearing about Hermione's death, I was expecting a call from her parents telling me to pick up Aria, I'm glad now that Hermione changed her mind. This is where Aria belongs. With her family.

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**A/N**: Well, I finally got that essay done! Oh, and to anyone who heard about my poor sprained pinky finger, it feels much better now, but it still looks slightly crooked… Anyway! Thanks for reading. Please review! 


	9. Sibling Rivalry Takes on a New Meaning

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**Disclaimer**: I.D.I.O.T. - I Don't Own It … Today.

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**A/N**: This chapter is for ProperT, who has not only been with this story since the first few chapters of 'Family Ties', but was also my 50th reviewer! Hope you like this one.

I actually got the idea for this chapter from 'Ms. Anna', so props to her for giving me a good idea! This chapter is dedicated to her!

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**Chapter Nine: Sibling Rivalry Takes on a Whole New Meaning**

Ron's POV

There are only two weeks left of summer vacation. The kids' Hogwarts letters arrived yesterday, so we're going to Diagon Alley today. Aria's birthday is the day after tomorrow. We still haven't gone to the house. I've been putting it off. But I know we're going to have to do it eventually. I'll have to write to Eva to see what she's doing next week.

I'm sitting in the living room, pretty much staring into empty space, when Aria practically skips into the room and plops down beside me. She smiles at me toothily, and I feel myself smiling back automatically.

"What's up?" I ask, deciding I can always put my blank staring off until later. She shrugs, still grinning.

"I dunno. I'm just excited."

"About what?" I ask her, chuckling slightly. Her mood is infectious.

"Well, my birthday's in two days, and school starts again in a couple weeks. I can't wait to get back and see everyone," she says.

"Aw, you're not gonna miss your old man?" I ask her, wrapping my arm around her and hugging her slightly. She laughs.

"Maybe a little," she says with a smile. I look at her, and in that moment, she looks more like her mother than ever. I feel my smile waver slightly as the memory of the last time I'd smiled with Hermione – really smiled, without the awkwardness – comes back to me.

"_I love you," I whispered, hugging her to my side and kissing her cheek. She smiled up at me, her eyes sparkling._

"_I love you too," she replied, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me back. I held her a moment longer than the normal hug permitted, and she rested her head against my chest._

"_The war's over," I whispered. "It's finally over."_

"_I know. It's almost hard to believe You-Know-Who is finally gone. For good. I half expect him to just pop up somewhere unexpectedly," she said, laughing. I laughed as well._

"_Oh, is that why you're still not saying his name?" I asked, grinning at her teasingly._

"_It's just become habit," she answered simply. "I have no problem with calling him Voldemort." She didn't think I noticed, but she glanced around quickly as she said it, as if expecting him to suddenly come out of the shadows and grab her. I felt her hug me slightly tighter, and I smiled. In that moment, I decided I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this woman._

"Helloooooo?" Aria is waving her hand in front of my face, looking concerned. "Are you okay?" she asks, peering into my face. I smile at her quickly.

"Sorry," I tell her. "Just got caught up in a memory for a moment." Her smile disappears. It's so hard to fool her.

"About Mum?" she asks stonily. I fight the urge to sigh.

"Yes. About your mum."

She nods. "Oh."

"Hey," I say, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She looks up at me. "I'm sorry."

She smiles slightly. "It's alright," she says with a real smile this time. "I get it."

I smile back at her, loving her more and more every second I spend with her. Eva was right about one thing: this girl can definitely worm her way into one's heart.

"So, are you ready for Diagon Alley later?" I ask. She nods eagerly.

"Yeah! I need new robes though. And our Potions teacher wants a bunch of new ingredients for this year. Not to mention I have about a hundred book I have to get..." she trails off with and exasperated sigh. I resist the urge to laugh.

"Anyway. How about if you go find the boys, and I'll see if I can get Keira, Abby, and Henry ready to go," I suggest. She nods and jumps up.

"Okay. Be right back!" And then she runs up the stairs and disappears.

Jake's POV

It's great to have Aria back. The real Aria – not moody, depressed Aria. Yesterday, she kicked my butt in chess, and _laughed_ about it. Actually _laughed_. I've missed hearing her laugh.

Sean and I are sitting in the middle of the upstairs landing when Aria appears at the head of the steps, a grin on her face. I nudge Sean, and he looks up at her.

"Hey, Aria. What's up?"

"Dad wanted me to come get you guys. We're leaving for Diagon Alley soon," she says with a smile. "I'm just going to change really quick. Meet you guys downstairs!"

I glance at Sean. I don't think he's taking very well to this new and improved Aria. First of all, he's not exactly used to sharing Ron. I mean, sure, there's Henry and Abby, but they're little. They get different attention than Sean or I. And Ron's never exactly _lavished_ me with love or anything – he's not my father. I get that. It's never bothered me.

But Sean? Sean's never had to share his dad with someone else his own age. I think it's finally starting to sink in that Aria is more than just another friend – she's also his sister.

"Shall we?" I ask, raising my eyebrows at him. He sighs.

"Yeah, whatever."

"What's your problem?" I ask him as we walk down the stairs. "You seem different."

"Aria's my problem!" he snarls, finally breaking. "She's always hanging off Dad and smiling at him all adoringly. It's disgusting. And she always convinces him to do what _she_ wants. Forget the fact that he promised to play Quidditch with me this morning! _Aria_ needs him! _Aria _is still healing! _Poor Aria's mum is dead!"_ he exclaims angrily, throwing his hands into the air. I stare at him. And then I stare past him. At Aria. Standing behind him.

"Um… Sean?" I say, seeing her shocked expression.

"No! I don't care! Go ahead! Defend your precious little girlfriend! You'd rather be with her as well! The whole damn family prefers _perfect Aria_! I might as well just not even be here! Even Mum spends more time with her than with me!"

"Sean…" I try again, watching as Aria slowly descends the last few steps, still looking shocked.

"I don't want to hear it, Jake! You know it's true! Abby and Henry absolutely adore her! Mum's glad she finally has a girl to talk about girly crap with. _You_ can never take your eyes off her! And Dad!" He shakes his head, his eyes clouding over – with tears or anger, I can't tell. Maybe both. "If you ask me, Dad doesn't even know I exist," he whispers, finally looking down.

"Sean?" I try once more.

"Forget it, Jake. You know what? I wish Aria and you had never met," he says, and he's absolutely dead serious.

I glance at Aria again. Her eyes are filled with tears. She shakes her head at me and slips into the next room. Sean doesn't even notice.

"I think I hate her," he whispers, his eyes fixed on me. I've never seen him so angry before.

"Well," I sigh. "She probably really hates you right about now too." I spot Aria watching us from the kitchen. Sean whips around, his face adopting a look of shock.

"Aria," he breathes. She just stares at him coldly.

"Well, now I know how you really feel," she says, and her voice is shaky. Sean glances at me, his eyes pleading for my help. I glare at him.

"Hey kids!" Ron says, appearing at the front door. We all turn to look at him. His smile vanishes when he sees our expressions.

"Is everything alright?" he asks, glancing back and forth between us with concerned looks.

"Oh, yes," Aria spits angrily, still glaring at Sean. "Everything is just wonderful!" With that, she strides past him and out the front door. I bite my lip. Who to choose, who to choose?

"Sean?" Ron asks, coming forward. "Jake? What was that about?"

"Like you even care," Sean snarls. "Why don't you go ask your precious daughter?" Ron looks as if he's been slapped.

"Sean, is that what this is?" he asks, coming forward. I debate on whether or not I should leave.

"It doesn't even matter," mutters Sean. "You don't care."

"What on earth…? Is that what you think? That I don't care about you?"

"Why should you? You're not my father," he sneers, pushing past him and slamming the front door behind him. Double slap.

Keira's POV

Ron is oddly quiet as we drive toward London. Which reminds me. _Why _are we driving there? Anyway. He looks … haunted is the only word that really fits actually. And the kids – Aria, Jake, and Sean, are absolutely silent. Not a peep from any of them. Abby, who's sitting between Jake and Aria, and Henry, who is sitting between Jake and Sean, on the other hand, are chatting up a storm back there. They never stop.

"Ron?" I say softly. He glances at me and shakes his head.

"Not now, Keira," he says. I notice him glance in the rearview mirror, looking at Sean, who's staring out the window with an unreadable expression on his face.

The rest of the drive is spent in uncomfortable silence after the little kids fall asleep. Finally, we arrive. The kids jump out of the car so fast they might as well have Apparated out. I look at Ron.

"We'll talk later," he says stonily. "I'll go park the car and meet up with you all later," he adds as I get out. I nod at him and he drives off to find a parking spot.

Ron's POV

As I walk slowly back toward the Leaky Cauldron, I think about what Sean said to me. What was that about? He and Aria have always gotten along perfectly before now. Why the sudden change?

In the back of my mind, I think I know. I think it started when Aria started calling me 'Dad'. I don't know why that would bother him. I'm still his dad. I mean… he's my son. I love him. What more is there to understand? Apparently, a lot more.

Aria's POV

I still can't believe he said that. I thought we were getting along great. I mean, yeah, he seemed a little unnerved at first about the whole 'dad' thing, but I didn't know it was a _problem_. He's _my_ dad too!

Jake's POV

Aria hasn't said a word since we left. She keeps glancing at Sean with a really angry expression on her face. Wish I knew what she was thinking. Then again, I can almost imagine the thoughts going through her head. I almost laugh aloud as I imagine a little conga line up there, singing: _He's an ass, he's an ass, he's a big fat ass, he's an ass, he's an ass, he's an aaaass…_ I snort, and everyone turns to look at me.

"Sorry," I mumble. "Some little kid tripped over his own feet back there. Hilarious."

Sean's POV

I still don't regret what I said. I really might just hate her.

Ron's POV

I wonder how Aria would react if I took her to her mum's house today. Probably not so well. And Sean … ugh. Sean would get even worse.

I catch up with them at Flourish and Blotts, where I find Aria and Sean in a full-fledged war over a copy of 'Standard Book of Spells: Grade Two'. What is going on here?

"What is going on here?" I demand, taking the book away from both of them. They point at each other.

"He/She started it!" they shout. Oh my. Scary how much like siblings they really are.

"I don't really care," I say, picking up another copy of the same book and handing one to each of them. "Stop fighting."

They both glare at me and disappear amongst the shelves to find their other books. I look at Jake, who rolls his eyes before following them. Keira shakes her head at me in despair.

"Oh my. Just wait until their teenagers," she sighs, rubbing her temples. I look down at Abby and scoop her up. Then I pick up Henry in the other arm.

"At least two of our children are still innocent little angels," I say, smiling at them. Abby grins and plants a kiss on my cheek.

"Love you, Daddy," she says. I kiss her back.

"Love you more, Pumpkin." Henry reaches out for Keira, not happy with this lack of attention.

"What is wrong with them?" Keira hisses as Aria and Sean come stomping back up to the counter with an exasperated-looking Jake trailing behind. I almost laugh at this. This looks exactly like the fights Hermione, Harry, and I would get into when we were in school.

"It's complicated," I reply, setting Abby down and receiving an armful of spell books to pay for. Great. Just grand.

We pay for the books and head down the street to Madame Malkin's robe shop, which is actually now run by one of Ginny's friends. I can never remember her name. Elsie… Emma… Emily…

"Becka!" Keira exclaims upon seeing her. Becka! That was it. Where did I get Emma from?

"Oh my. _Three_ this time? Where do these extra children keep popping up from?" Becka exclaims, taking notice of Aria right away. Sean rolls his eyes, and Aria smiles shyly.

"This is Aria," I say, introducing her. "Aria, this is Becka. She's a good friend of Ginny's." Becka smiles at her. She casts me a questioning look.

I shake my head to get across the message that we're not going to talk about this now. She nods.

"Well! We have three kids who need new robes! Come, come! Let's go!" She leads them into the back, and sets them all up on stools.

"Okay! Hold still now! Don't want to stick you with a pin! Nasty business really," she says with a smile as she fits Aria's robes. Aria smiles somewhat uneasily at that. I almost laugh.

Becka is quick and precise about her measuring, and has Aria's robes done in a fraction of the time it would have taken old Madame Malkin.

"There you go," she says only five minutes later, handing Aria a wrapped package.

Twenty minutes later, we're walking out of the shop and toward the Apothecary. The kids don't speak to each other as we go in, and they don't even _look_ at each other as I pay for three brand new sets of new ingredients for that damn Potions Master who wants such expensive supplies.

I can't stand this. These three are supposed to be best friends! Sighing, I suggest we go to Florean's for ice cream.

"Not hungry," answers Sean.

"Well _I_ am," counters Aria.

"Yeah, well then why don't you go by yourself?" Sean snarls.

"Why don't you just get over yourself?" Aria growls. I roll my eyes.

"Kids! Let's go get ice cream. Abby and Henry want some, don't you?" I ask them. They both nod eagerly. Thank goodness.

"Fine," mutters Sean. "Let's go then."

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Finally, after three more painstakingly long hours of this insaneness, we're ready to go home. I'm so sick of Aria and Sean casting each other death wish glares that I might just ground them both and send them to their rooms.

The ride home is even worse than the ride there because every now and then Sean and Aria look at each other and whisper something that would probably make my hair curl. I still can't figure out where a couple of twelve-year-olds learned such foul language. Probably at school.

By the time we get home, get all the stuff we bought into the house, and get Abby and Henry changed out of their sticky clothes (they went a little overboard on the ice cream), I'm about ready to fall over from exhaustion. I sit down at the kitchen table, and I see there's a letter there, waiting for me. Curious, I pick it up.

I open it slowly, and pull out a single sheet of parchment with unfamiliar handwriting on it.

_Dear Ron,_

_It's Eva._ _I'm getting off of work at five, and I'm going over to Hermione's house to take care of the cat and see if any more bills have arrived. If you want to, you and Aria can meet me there around five thirty. If you don't show up, I understand completely. We can do it another time. I have to get back to work now, but I just wanted to let you know that I'll be there if you want to come._

_Sincerely,_

_Eva Jorgansin_

I look at my watch. Twenty minutes after five. Wow. It's been a _long_ day.

"Hey," I hear from behind me. I turn around to see Aria standing there, smiling uncertainly. I smile back.

"Hi there. Come here," I say. She does so and takes a seat beside me. She looks at the letter in my hand curiously.

"It's from Eva," I tell her, setting it aside. She nods.

"Look, Aria… I know you probably won't want to do this, but Eva is going over to your mum's house today – she's been taking care of things there, you know – and she asked us to come as well. The thing is … eventually you're going to have to figure out what you want from that house. Anything you don't want, Eva said she'd try to sell for you. And I know it's going to be hard, but you have to do this. If you don't want to do it today, I understand. We can go another time. But I want you to think about it, alright?" I say, looking at her carefully. She looks up at me.

"I'm scared," she whispers at last, which sort of throws me.

"Why?" I ask.

"I – I don't know. I just am. I'm scared to go back there. But … I suppose … we can go tonight if you want to," she murmurs, looking away. I smile at her slightly.

"Eva wants to meet us there at five thirty. Are you ready to go?" I ask her. She glances at me and nods.

"Okay. Let's go then."

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**A/N**: Ack. I know. I lied. I was going to have Aria going to her old house in this one, but I didn't want to make it insanely long, because that's just … insane. Besides, this chapter was so hard to write that I couldn't drag it on any longer. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, and I'm sorry for not sticking with my plan! Please review anyway! 


	10. Not Quite Home Anymore

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****Disclaimer**: Am I J.K. Rowling? No, I don't think so. So I don't own Harry Potter. Duh.

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**A/N**: You should be proud of me – I wrote this chapter in about three and a half hours. I really wanted to get it out. Yay for double digits! I apologize for any errors I made because it's late at night and I really don't feel like editing right now. So if I ever get back to it, I'll edit it later. Also, I'm getting to impatient to write huge, 19-page chapters, so my average is around ten pages in Microsoft Word. It's just easier than trying to drag the chapter on and on. Besides, who has time to actually _read _that many pages in one sitting? Not me. Ok, enough of my rambling. Happy reading!

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**Chapter Ten: Not Quite Home Anymore**

Aria's POV

I knew this was coming. I shouldn't be so shocked. After all, I'd been expecting it ever since Eva sent me that first letter. But it still comes as a horrible surprise when Dad and I Apparate to the empty wooded lot a block or so from my old house, and I realize just what he's asking me to do.

We walk out of the trees and up the block. I feel distinctly out of place here. This block used to be my home. There's the crazy lady's house – she's obsessed with unicorns. She has horrible little figurines of them everywhere in her house, and paintings of them on her walls, and even unicorn _dinner plates_. She had to babysit me once when I was little and my mum had to run to work in the middle of supper - I was like, four. It scarred me for life.

I smile to myself as we pass her house, just thinking what her reaction would be if I told her that as a third year in Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts, we get to study unicorns. She'd probably have a heart attack.

We pass old Mrs. Adrean's house. She's out in her flower garden – big surprise there – on her hands and knees, carefully pulling every tiny weed that dares to poke its head through her precious soil. She glances up at us as we pass, and a frown overcomes her features as if she doesn't recognize me. I don't bother to remind her – she never liked my mum or me very well. She's lived next door to us since I was just a little kid – and mum told me she's pretty sure that Mrs. Adrean was one of the many people to hear the declaration of my very first swear word.

We come to a stop in front of the house. Beside me, I hear Dad inhale sharply as he looks at it. I slowly raise my eyes and stare at it. It looks exactly the same as it did one year ago, except the flower garden is in much better shape than it ever was when Mum took care of it – I can only assume Eva's been using magic to keep it looking nice for when we eventually have to sell it…

"Shall we?" Dad asks softly. I take a deep breath and nod. We start toward the front door, and it opens for us automatically. Eva is standing in the doorway with a smile on her face.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," she says, holding the door open for us. I look around the front hall and a whole tidal wave of overwhelming emotions engulfs me. Blinking back sudden tears, I turn into the living room.

It hasn't changed. Mum's books are still stacked haphazardly on the coffee table on top of last year's Hogwarts letter. Apparently she just left it there all year. My old sweater is still draped over the back of a chair, exactly where I left it two weeks before leaving for school. The same can be said for a pair of worn old sneakers I'd kicked into the corner one day after taking a walk with Meghan around the neighborhood.

The numerous pictures of me are still sitting in their plain frames on the mantel. My favorite armchair still has my favorite quilt lying over the back of it, as though it's been waiting all year for me to come home and relax.

I blink some more.

"I didn't want to move anything," Eva explains quietly, coming to stand beside me. I nod mutely. I have to choose what I want to keep? I have to decide what I can throw away forever and never see again? These things have been around my whole life! How do I pick what I keep?

I shake my head. I have to start with an easier room. I walk out into the hallway again, and Eva and Dad trail behind. I'm about to turn to go upstairs when a closed door just down the hall catches my eye. Something in my chest tightens painfully. Mum's study. Closing my eyes for a second to regain my composure, I start upstairs again.

The door to my bedroom is closed. It probably hasn't been touched since I left for school last September. I turn the knob slowly and let the door swing inward.

My room hasn't changed – obviously. The computer is still in its corner, only it now has a thin film of dust across the screen. I wonder how full my email inbox is after a whole year of not being emptied.

I look around some more. There are still plenty of pictures. I didn't take any with me when I went to Hogwarts. I smile at one of Meghan, Jess, and me from last summer. We're sitting in Jess's back yard in an old baby pool, laughing and smiling. I pick the picture up and look at it. It seems like it was another lifetime that I sat there with my two best friends, gossiping and talking about what school would be like.

From behind me, I hear something fall over and I turn to see my dad picking up a picture frame. He touches his wand to it and repairs the cracked glass wordlessly. I move to his side to see which picture it is.

It's an old picture of Mum and me from when I was probably six years old. I'm sitting on her lap in that armchair, and we have a big story book in front of us. I've always loved that picture. I have my finger to the page, following along as she reads aloud. I wonder how much better the picture would be if it moved.

"This is a good picture," Dad says, setting it back down on my bedside stand. I nod.

"I think Evan took that one, didn't you?" I ask her as she comes to stand beside us. She nods, smiling fondly.

"Yep. I love that picture," she says. She takes her wand out. "You want me to pack anything for you?" she asks. I look around.

"Just the pictures," I say quietly. She waves her wand and all of the pictures disappear. A cardboard box appears on my bed, and it seals itself as I watch it. She waves her wand again and the box is gone.

"I sent it to the house," she says in explanation. Dad nods.

I walk over to the closet and peer inside. I thumb through the different clothes, looking everything over carefully. I look down to see a giant cardboard box sitting beside me. I glance at Eva, who grins. I smile back and start taking the clothes I want out of my closet and depositing them unceremoniously into the box. Before I know it, half my closet is in there. I look at the remaining clothes hanging there innocently, completely unaware that their owner has returned.

I turn away from the closet and nod at Eva, who waves her wand and sends the box home. I almost smile at that. I can't even call this place home anymore. Dad's house is home.

From the doorway, I hear an achingly familiar meow. Turning, I see Crookshanks slinking into the room, his yellow eyes fixed on me. He walks toward me and rubs against my ankles, purring loudly with a little cat-smile on his squashed face.

"Crookshanks," I murmur, picking him up. He rubs his head against my chin, purring even more loudly.

"Well, I'll be," Dad says in awe. "That old cat is still alive."

"You know Crookshanks?" I ask as the cat leaps from my arms and stalks toward him. He grins and squats down to tickle Crookshanks' chin.

"Your mum bought him when she was thirteen," he says. "First time I ever met the cat he nearly scalped me."

Eva laughs. "Crookshanks? He wouldn't hurt a fly," she says, crouching down as well. Crookshanks rubs against their knees, still purring.

"Yeah, not _now_," Dad says darkly. "He must be over twenty years old now."

"He_ is_ part kneazle," I say with a shrug. I take another look around my bedroom. Nothing in here really means much to me. The electronic things would be a waste of space – even though Dad's house _does_ have electricity and a telephone, courtesy of Keira. Other than the pictures and my clothes, there isn't anything in here I really want.

"I think I'm done here," I say. Eva and Dad straighten up, ready to follow me to the other rooms in the house. I pause in the upstairs hallway. No, I'm not ready for Mum's room yet. Nodding decisively to myself, I start back down the stairs. Dad and Eva follow.

We head back into the living room. I think I can do this now.

"All I really want from this room is that chair," I say pointing to it. "And the quilt on it," I add for good measure. Dad waves his wand this time, and the chair disappears. The room seems oddly empty without it.

"Don't you want all these pictures?" asks Dad, stepping over to the mantel. I shrug.

"You can have them if you want them," I say. "But I'm not putting them in my room."

Dad smiles at me and all of the pictures featuring me alone disappear. The ones with Meghan and Jess in them sit in their places on the mantel with gaps between them. I sigh.

"I'll take those," I say, pointing at them. They disappear instantly.

"If either of you want anything in here … feel free," I say uncertainly.

"Are you sure?" asks Eva, who I've noticed eyeing our coffee table enviously since I was about eight. I nod and pick up the books and my old Hogwarts letter a second before the table disappears.

I set the books on the couch and look around. I smile when I see Dad snag a lamp that's always stood in the corner by the window.

"Done?" he asks when he spots me on my way out the door. I nod. I ignore the kitchen completely – there's nothing I want in there. However, as we pass, I notice Dad pause and scrutinize the table, as though mentally comparing it to the one at home. After a moment he joins me in front of the closed door that leads to Mum's study.

"You okay?" he asks, laying a hand on my shoulder. I take a deep breath and reach out for the doorknob.

Mum's desk is still just as organized and neat as it was the last time I was in here. The weird coat rack in the corner – which is obviously an owl perch now that I look at it – is still there, and the bookshelves are still full of books that are most likely wizard books with Muggle covers on them. I sit down in front of her desk carefully.

I hear Dad looking at the bookshelf behind me as I open one of the drawers in the desk. Inside is a plain pocket folder. I take it out and open it curiously.

It's full of letters. I take out the top one and look at it curiously. The handwriting is vaguely familiar. I skim it quickly. Bored, I flip to the signature. It's from _my dad!_

Shocked, I take out the other letters in the folder. They're _all_ from him! Narrowing my eyes, I swivel around in the chair and glare at the back of his head until he turns around slowly, looking confused.

"Staring at me?" he asks with a slight smile. His smile fades away when he sees me glaring at him. "What's wrong?"

"This," I snarl, shoving the folder in his face. He takes it uncertainly, still looking at me. He lowers his eyes to the folder slowly, and his eyebrows shoot up.

"Oh, Aria," he says, looking back at me. "Aria, you have to understand–"

"Understand what?" I ask fiercely. "That you were talking to my mum almost a year ago and you never told me?"

"Aria, we've had this conversation," he sighs, handing the folder back to me. I snatch it away.

"No, we haven't," I snarl. "We've had the 'I-couldn't-tell-you-I-was-your-father-because-your-mum-wanted-to-do-it-herself' conversation. We haven't had the 'reason-you've-never-told-me-you-were-writing-to-my-mum' conversation!"

"It never came up," he says. I roll my eyes.

"You want to know why?" he asks, leaning against the bookshelf. I give him a 'duh' look. "I never told you I was writing to your mum because I knew you'd take it badly, that's why," he says matter-of-factly. I give him a look and spin around to face the desk again.

"I don't want to go through this all now," I murmur, looking at all the different papers. "But…" I turn around again. Dad's looking me expectantly.

"Would it be alright if I put this desk in my room instead of the one that's in there now?" I ask uncertainly. He smiles.

"Of course." He waves his wand, and I jump back just in time. The desk disappears. "Hmm. We might have some furniture rearranging to do when we get home," he says with a smile. "As for this bookshelf, I think there's a perfect spot for it in the living room." Another wave of the wand and the bookshelf is gone as well.

"Anything else in here?" he asks, looking around. I shake my head.

"Let's go back upstairs," I say with a sigh.

"I thought we were done upstairs," Dad says, looking confused.

"No," I say sadly. "There's still one more room."

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Ron's POV

Aria leads me back upstairs. We go past her bedroom, where the door is still open. I peer inside to see Eva looking at the computer with interest. Hiding a smile, I walk up behind Aria, who's standing in front of another closed door. She looks at it uncertainly, and I'm pretty sure I know which room this is.

"Ready?" I ask. She nods.

"I suppose."

She opens the door and it swings inward slowly. I look at the small bedroom and I feel the breath in my lungs whoosh out. It's simple and plain – nothing more than I would expect from Hermione really – but just the fact that she occupied this space regularly is enough to make a chord in my chest tighten painfully.

Aria walks in and runs her hand over the spines of the books on the small bookshelf in there. She looks around and sighs.

"I don't even want to touch anything," she says, glancing at the wardrobe.

"I know it's hard," I tell her. "But let's just do this, okay?"

She nods, and together we go through Hermione's books and decide which ones to keep and which ones to let Eva sell. When we're done with that, Aria fingers the door to the wardrobe uncertainly. I give her a smile that I hope is encouraging, and she pulls the door open carefully.

While she does that, I turn and look at the little stand holding Hermione's jewelry box. I open it hesitantly.

There's not much in there. There's a necklace her mum gave her once for her birthday, and a family heirloom bracelet her grandmother had sent her for Christmas one year.

There's another necklace with a beautiful green stone set into the word 'Mother'. I can only imagine who gave it to Hermione. I smile.

The last thing in there is a small white gold ring set with a small heart-shaped diamond. I pick it up in wonder. It's the promise ring I gave to Hermione when we were eighteen. I look at it curiously. She kept it all these years?

"What's that?" asks Aria, appearing at my side.

"It's a ring I gave your mum when we were eighteen," I tell her, holding it in the palm of my hand for her to see. She picks it up gently and brings it to her eyes.

"Is it an engagement ring?" she asks, looking up at me. I smile at her accusatory tone.

"No. It's a promise ring," I answer. She gives me a puzzled look.

"What's a promise ring?" she asks.

"That is," I tell her with a grin. She gives me a look.

"What's it _for_?"

"It's sort of … a pre-engagement ring," I tell her, not quite sure how to explain it to a twelve-year-old.

"Why didn't you just buy her an engagement ring?" she asks pointedly. I wince.

"I was eighteen, Aria. I wasn't ready to get married, and neither was your mum. Besides, giving someone a promise ring doesn't mean you're absolutely going to get married. It's like ... promising you're not going to date other people I guess…" I say uncertainly.

"Was it expensive?" she asks. I chuckle.

"Sort of."

"Were you going to ask her to marry you?" she asks, handing me the ring. I close my hand around it.

"Yeah," I answer truthfully. "I was. I was going to wait a couple years, but I was ready to spend the rest of my life with her," I sigh. Aria smiles sadly.

"She always loved you," she whispers. I look at her sharply. She smiles at my look. "She never told me so, but I could tell. Every time I ever asked about 'my father', she'd tell me that she'd explain everything when I was older and all that stuff, but the few times she did talk about you, it was always with a certain … glow," she says.

"Did you figure out what to do with her clothes?" I ask.

"Yeah. I don't want any of it," she answers with a shrug. "What about her jewelry?"

"Oh, I don't know. You might want to keep this," I say, handing her the bracelet. "Supposedly it's a family heirloom."

"Yeah," she says, looking at it. "I remember Mum showing it to me once when I was little. She told me that one day it would be mine, and then someday I'd pass it on to one of my kids."

"Yes, well let's hope that doesn't happen for a _very _long time," I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. She laughs and leans against me.

"The bracelet is all I want," she says.

"Would it bother you if I kept this?" I ask, showing her the ring again. She picks it out of hand once more and scrutinizes it.

"It's pretty," she says simply, handing it back to me. I take that as a good sign and slip it into my pocket.

"Anything else?" I ask. She looks around and shrugs.

"Not really. Anything Mum would have wanted to keep safe would have been in her desk – she always yelled at me for digging through it when I was younger," she says with a smile.

I nod. "Ready to go?" She takes one last look around. While her back is turned to me, she chokes out a sob, and I feel my heart clench.

"Aria?" I ask, laying a hand on her shoulder. She leans back against me and I wrap my arms around her.

"I just miss her so much," she whispers, turning around and burying her head in my chest. I hug her close.

"I know," I murmur. "Me too. You were lucky – you had almost twelve years with her," I add, wiping her tears away. She smiles slightly.

"Yeah," she sighs. "But it wasn't long enough."

"No," I agree. "It wasn't."

"I just can't believe I'll never come to this house again. I'll never…" she let the rest of the sentence die out as another sob escapes her. I hug her again.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else from in here?" I ask her. She looks around once more. She pulls away and goes to the bed, which wasn't made completely perfectly in Hermione's haste to leave the morning she went to pick up Aria. She touches the comforter with quivering fingers. I join her.

The bedding is the one thing in the room with any personality. It's white with light pink, soft yellow, and light blue vertical stripes.

"I want this," she whispers. "And I don't want it washed," she adds. Normally this request would be strange, but I understand her. Hermione's scent was one of the best in the world – a wonderful mixture of something flowery and something that resembled peppermint. I nod and wave my wand to send it home. Aria's room is going to take some reorganization when we get home.

"Now are we ready to go?" I ask her. She nods, turns away from the bed, and takes my hand.

"Let's go home," she whispers.

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**A/N**: Well, there you go, as promised! Hope you enjoyed! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Eva. Or Crookshanks! They'll both make their respectable (or, in Crookshanks' case, not-so-respectable) appearances next chapter! Please review! 


	11. Peace at Last

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**Disclaimer**: Seriously. Do I Have to say it?

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**A/N**: It's rather shorter than most other chapters in this story, but I had a bit of trouble with this one. Hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter Eleven: Peace at Last**

Sean's POV

I'm in my room, lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. But I'm not sulking, no matter _what_ Jake has to say about it. Dad isn't home. He and Aria have disappeared. I don't care though. She can _have_ him. He's not even my real father. I don't care if he'd rather spend time with her than with me

There's a knock on my door.

"Come in," I mutter. The door swings open, and Jake is standing there, looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"You. Are. Pathetic," he says bluntly, coming in and standing at the end of my bed. I glance at him.

"I'm not," I protest. He snorts.

"You've been lying on your bed, _sulking_ ever since we got home from Diagon Alley," he says matter-of-factly.

"Have not," I mutter. Jake rolls his eyes.

"What's your problem?" he asks, sitting down at my feet. I sigh and go back to staring at the ceiling. I thought I already explained to him what my problem was.

"Look, Aria's your sister," he starts, and I sigh again, loudly, to show I'm really not interested in what he has to say. "She's your sister," he repeats, "and if you're feeling like your dad isn't spending enough time with you, why don't you just _talk_ to him about it?"

"It's not that simple, Jake," I snap, still not looking at him. I can practically feel him roll his eyes at me.

"It _is_ that simple. How about, instead of sulking because your daddy's 'neglecting you', you go talk to Ron and Aria about it and find a way to _solve_ it," he suggests, standing up. I glance at him. He's already on his way out the door.

"Yeah right," I mutter. "Like they care what I have to say."

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Aria's POV

Dad and I arrive on the front step to the amazing smell of Keira's cooking. We walk into the kitchen and the aroma of dinner hits us, momentarily stopping me in my tracks. I love Keira's cooking.

She looks up as we walk in and smiles. "I was hoping you'd be back for supper. I made your favorite pie," she says. I wonder if she's talking to me or Dad.

"Peach," she adds with a wink. I grin.

"I love peach pie," I announce. Dad smiles at me, and Keira laughs.

"Oh, you are your father's daughter," she chuckles, turning back to the stove with a shake of her head. I smile at that.

"Did you notice we now have a very nice bookshelf and some pictures of Aria in our living room?" Dad asks, joining Keira. She nods.

"I did. I also noticed that Aria's bedroom now resembles a junkyard," she adds.

Dad laughs and I smile. "I'm going upstairs," I tell them, heading toward the steps. They nod and turn back to the stove.

Upstairs, I find my room really _does_ look a bit like a junkyard. I wish I could use magic, because then it would probably take ten seconds to rearrange my room. Maybe I'll just have Dad do it later.

Turning around, I find myself face-to-face with Sean. I glare at him coldly and start around him. He grabs my arm.

"Aria."

I wrench my arm out of his hand. "Get away from me," I snarl.

"Aria," he repeats, searching my face. I give him an impatient look.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," he murmurs. "I-I shouldn't have said that. I don't hate you."

"I don't believe you," I reply, starting away from him again. He reaches out and puts his hand on my shoulder. I pause.

"I was just mad. Really mad. I've been thinking about it and … Jake's right. You're my sister – my dad is your dad too, and I shouldn't have gotten jealous," he says softly.

I turn around slowly and look up at him – when did he get so tall? His brown eyes are full of sorrow and I can tell he means it. I smile slightly. He smiles a very relieved smile back. Caught up in the moment, I reach for him and wrap my arms around him. He hugs me back after a few seconds, obviously a bit surprised.

"Finally," I hear, and I turn to see Jake watching us from his bedroom. He smiles and comes over to us. I smile at him and open my mouth to say something, but I'm interrupted.

"Kids! Supper's ready!" we hear Keira yell.

"Shall we?" I ask, holding an arm out to each of them. They both grin and slip their arms through mine.

"We shall," they reply simultaneously.

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The next couple of weeks fly by. My birthday was awesome – Eva came over and we had a little party. She couldn't bring her daughter Madison though because she caught the flu, but we still had fun.

Eva, Maddie, and Eva's husband Mike got me a really cute outfit for weekends at school – a pair of dark Muggle jeans with an embroidered bird on the back pocket that resembles a phoenix, a red tank top with a lighter red heart print, and a dark burgundy cropped zipper sweatshirt. I love it – I've already worn it twice.

Jake got me a book on the history of the Ireland Quidditch team, and Sean got me one on the history of the Holyhead Harpies, which made me laugh.

Henry and Abby got me a couple of wizard novels that sound really interesting. Abby told me that her mum actually picked them out, but it was a secret.

Keira got me a brown sweater that will look good with the outfit Eva gave me in place of the sweatshirt.

Dad got me a music jewelry box. It's made of mahogany with pretty intricate designs all over it on the outside, and it's lined with the softest red velvet. It's beautiful. The only things in there are Mum's bracelet and my locket, but I still love it.

Between Dad and Keira, my room now looks much more like me. We got a rug for the floor – it's full of bright colors like yellow and orange and red and bright blues and greens. Keira helped me pick out curtains that match Mum's old bedding as best as can be. We gave the white and blue bedding back to Ginny, who looked a bit disgruntled at having to take it back to tell the truth.

Mum's desk looks beautiful under the window. I hung all the pictures on the walls or set them up on top of the bookshelf. My favorite armchair is in the corner where the other one used to be, which is now in the living room. The old quilt is on the end of my bed.

We celebrated Abby's birthday yesterday since Sean, Jake, and I aren't going to be here for it. She loved the Ireland cloak I ordered for her. It was so cute. She wore it around like a cape all day.

Tomorrow we're leaving for school. I'm a little sad. The summer wasn't great, but I really got to know my family. I finally feel like I belong with these people.

Right now we're out in the back yard together. Dad is once again attempting to teach us to play Quidditch. Sean's being Keeper, and Jake, Dad, and I are being Chasers. Abby and Henry are our cheering section. They're so cute. Keira is sitting with them under the tree in the back yard, watching with a smile.

"Alright, Aria! Throw it!" Dad calls over to me. I direct the broom slowly toward the make-shift goal. I'm still a bit unsteady on a broom. Keeping a tight grip on the handle with my left hand, I raise my right and launch the old beat-up Quaffle at the hoop. Sean reaches for it and misses by inches. It sails through the hoop smoothly.

I cheer and throw my hands in the air, quickly reaching down again to grab the broom handle as my balance slips.

"Yay, Ara!" Henry cheers. I grin. I love how he tries to say my name. It's adorable.

"That was luck," Sean mutters darkly. Jake laughs.

"You're lucky you didn't fall off your broom when you tried to catch that Quaffle," he snickers. Sean scowls.

"You've been at this for hours," Keira calls. "Let's have supper. It's nearly dark."

"It's only eight o'clock!" Jake whines. Sean nods in agreement.

"Down! Now!" Keira barks. Reluctantly, we float down to the ground and put the old brooms away in the broom shed.

"You're a much better flier than your mum ever was," Dad tells me with a laugh as we head inside. I smile at him.

"I'm not very good," I reply. He grins.

"She was much worse," he whispers as though we're sharing a secret. I laugh.

"Let's get supper," I suggest. "I'm starving."

Ron's POV

The next morning, the kids are in a rush to get everything together in time to leave. Jake and Aria are screaming at each other from different floors in the house, having a conversation over some book they'd both misplaced. I'm about to go up there and put a stop to it when Sean yells out that he has both of their books and if they don't shut up, he's going to burn them.

Twenty minutes _after_ we should have left, we're standing in the kitchen, out of breath. We pile into the car and speed off toward London. I only hope we'll get there before the train leaves.

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**A/N**: Will they arrive before the train leaves? Will Aria, Jake, and Sean ever reach their second year of Hogwarts?! Tune in next time for another installment of _Adjustments_! Next chapter might just be the last chapter. I haven't decided yet if I'm writing one or two more chapters. Anyway, it's short, but I hope you enjoyed! 


	12. A New Beginning

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**Disclaimer**: I've said it for twelve straight chapter now – _I don't own Harry Potter! _Will you never learn?

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**A/N**: This is it, guys! The last chapter! How sad… But don't worry! Read the author's note at the end when you're finished, it'll make you happy!

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**Chapter Twelve: A New Beginning **

Aria's POV

We make it onto the Platform with less than two minutes to spare. Dad helps us get our trunks on the train while Abby whines about not being allowed to go to Hogwarts too.

"Hey, we'll be back for Christmas," I promise, kneeling and hugging her. She wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me tight.

"That's so far away," she tells me, and I smile.

"It's not so long. We'll be back before you know it."

Henry worms his way between Abby and me and hugs me as well.

"Bye-bye, Ara," he says, putting one little hand on each of my cheeks. I grin at him and kiss his forehead.

"Bye-bye, Henry," I whisper, hugging him again. He lets go and backs up, letting me stand. I turn to look at Keira and Dad, who are busy hugging the boys good-bye.

Keira comes up to me after releasing Jake and puts a hand on each of my shoulders and holds me at an arm's length.

"Your mum would be so proud of you," she says quietly, and I smile at her. It's almost funny how much I used to resent her, and now I've come to view her as … not exactly a mother-figure, but someone who's definitely a permanent part of my life now.

"I think she always liked you," I tell her, and she smiles back. She wraps her arms around me, and it hits me hard that this is the first time she's ever hugged me. I wrap my arms around her and hug her back.

"I want you to know," she whispers into my hair, "that at the beginning of the summer, I wasn't sure I could ever get used to having you around. And now? Now I don't think I could get used to _not_ having you around." She kisses my cheek and gives me another hug.

When she releases me, I smile at her before going over and giving Dad a hug. He holds me close.

"I'm going to miss you," he tells me.

"I'll be back soon," I remind him, looking up at him. He hugs me again.

"Not soon enough," he says, kissing the top of my head.

The train whistle blows and everyone still standing on the platform hurries to get on board. I give Dad one last hug.

"I love you, Aria," he says softly, leaning down and looking me in the eyes. "I always have."

I smile at him. "I love you too," I tell him as he lets go of me at last. "I'll see you for Christmas, Dad."

"C'mon, Aria, or we'll miss the train!" Sean calls, holding out his hand to help me up onto the train. I grab his hand and turn to wave out the window, waving, waving, waving until Dad, Keira, Henry, and Abby are just blurs, and then gone.

"Well?" asks Jake, looking around. "Shall we find a compartment?"

"Yeah," I answer. "Let's do that."

We don't have to look far. One of the first compartments we look into is empty except for one girl with long curly blonde hair.

"Skyla!" I exclaim, throwing open the door. She looks up, and upon seeing us, grins excitedly.

"Oh, I've missed you so much!" she says, standing up and hugging us each in turn. She catches me twice. "You have to tell me all about your summer! How was it? Did you go to Professor Potter's? Did your mum tell you about your dad? Did you meet him? What's he like? Aria?" Skyla peers into my face. "Aria, what's wrong?"

"My-my mum," I stammer. I wasn't quite ready for her interrogation. Her nonchalance about my mum momentarily shocks me.

"What about her? Did she tell you or not?" she presses impatiently. As much as I've missed Skyla over the summer, I could do without her over-bearing curiosity.

"Why don't we talk about your summer, Skyla?" Sean suggests quickly.

"No," I say softly. "It's okay."

"What is it?" Skyla demands. "Did your mum tell you or not?"

"N-no," I whisper, looking at the ground. "She never had the chance."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jake and Sean exchange a look. I haven't told either of them this bit of information yet.

"But you told me–"

"Let her finish!" barks Sean, and Skyla shuts her mouth in surprise. I don't blame her. Before the summer, Sean was so easy-going. He's gotten a lot testier lately.

"She never got the chance because she died in a car crash on the way home from King's Cross at the beginning of the summer," I tell her, still unable to look her in the eye. I hear her gasp.

"Oh, Aria, that's horrible! I'm so sorry," she says, reaching forward and hugging me. "I feel awful."

"I'm not done," I murmur, and she releases me instantly.

"I did find out who my father is," I tell her, and her expression changes instantly to burning curiosity again. I can't help but smile.

"Turns out," I start, glancing at Sean, who's smiling as well, "that Sean and I are siblings."

Skyla stares at me, dumbfounded, for exactly two seconds before throwing her hands up in the air and then slapping herself on the forehead. I exchange concerned glances with Jake.

"Of course!" she exclaims. "It's so obvious now! That's so cool, Aria!"

"It-it is?" I ask. I expected a slightly more shocked reaction to my news.

"Yes! It's awesome."

"Okay," I say with a shrug, taking a seat.

The conversation switches over to Quidditch and how Jake and Sean both want to try out for the team this year. I sit back and enjoy the company of my three best friends. I've sure missed this.

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When we arrive at Hogsmeade Station, we follow the older students to the horseless carriages that take us up to the school. Except … they're not horseless anymore.

As the others pile into a carriage, I stop and look at the great black horse-like creature standing there calmly. What _is _it? The carriages seemed pretty capable of pulling themselves last year, so why are these horse things here now?

Suddenly a scene from the beginning of the summer comes back to me. Sean and I were going to go swimming in the woods. He was telling me about the different animals in the forest, and he mentioned _thestrals_, which you can only see if you've seen … death.

_This must be a thestral_, I think, reaching out to it. It cranes its head and sniffs my hand curiously. I lay my hand on the strange creature's side. It's hide is sleek and smooth. Shuddering, I withdraw and climb into the carriage.

"What took you?" asks Skyla. I don't answer. Sean looks at me and offers me a sad smile, which I return.

The carriage bumps and rolls along the path up to Hogwarts, and as we pass through the gates, a feeling of peace overcomes me. This is where it all started. This is my second home. We all have another year ahead of us, and who knows what could be in store? I'm sure we'll find plenty of trouble to get into – one can only hope Professor Potter doesn't catch us!

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**A/N**: Oh sad! It's over! The ending just kind of snuck up on us, didn't it? It didn't end exactly how I planned it, but I think it's okay, don't you? Please review!

And to all of the reviewers who have stuck with this story from the beginning – and _especially _to those who were with me for almost all of 'Family Ties' – I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It was thanks to you guys that I didn't give up on this story, even though I was tempted to for awhile there.

An extra special thanks to ProperT, who is one of the only ones who has been with this story since the earliest chapters of 'Family Ties', and has stuck by me through it all. You're just an awesome person!

Oh, and if you're still craving some more Aria (and – _cough –_ some Aria/Jake interaction), never fear! I've decided I _am_ going to write _one_ more story for the series and make myself a nice little trilogy. It'll take place a few years after this, so they'll be older, which is the main reason we didn't actually get much Jake/Aria in this story (I just thought twelve was a bit too young for it).

So, I'll see how far I can get on my other story, 'Gambling With Her Heart' before I actually start the third one, but I'll probably get it out sooner rather than later. I have so many ideas for the story that I might just go insane if I don't write another.

One more note: the name of this story is going to change. I'm changing 'Family Ties' to 'Family Ties: The Beginning', and this is going to change to 'Family Ties: Adjustments'. It might confuzzle all of you for awhile, but I've been thinking long and hard about it, and that's what I want to do. So the third one will be named similarly, although I haven't actually decided on a title yet.

The next story will be mostly about Jake and how he came to live with the Weasleys (although, like I said, it takes place several years after the end of this story), and his search for the truth about his father (ooh, sound familiar?). If you have any ideas as to what the title should be, feel free to submit them via review or message. It'll be 'Family Ties:(Your Title Here!). All suggestions I get will be seriously considered. Thanks so much to everyone who read this story! It means so much to me!

Ok, the insanely long author's note is done now! Please review and thanks for reading! Until next time, Cheers!

AuthoressMegz


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